Substrate effects on surface magetetism of Fe/W(110) from first principles

TL;DR

This study uses first-principles calculations to explore how the thickness of a W(110) substrate affects the magnetic properties of an Fe(110) monolayer, revealing stable magnetic axes and the influence of substrate layers.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of substrate thickness effects on surface magnetism and anisotropy in Fe/W(110) systems from first principles.

Findings

Stable in-plane easy and hard axes of magnetization identified.

First four substrate layers significantly influence magnetic properties.

Beyond four layers, substrate effects become negligible.

Abstract

Surface magnetic properties of the pseudomorphic Fe(110) monolayer on a W(110) substrate are investigated from first principles as a function of the substrate thickness (up to eight layers). Analyzing the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energies, we find stable (with respect to the number of substrate layers) in-plane easy and hard axes of magnetization along the [1[overline 1]0] and [001] directions, respectively, reaching a value in good agreement with experiment for thick substrates. Additionally, the changes to the magnetic spin moments and the density of the Fe d states are analyzed with respect to the number of substrate layers as well as with respect to the direction of magnetization. With respect to the number of W(110) substrate layers beneath the Fe(110) surface, we find that the first four substrate layers have a large influence on the electronic and magnetic properties of the surface. Beyond the fourth layer, the substrate has only marginal influence on the surface properties.