Enhanced interface perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in electrodeposited Co/Au(111) layers

This work investigates the structure and interface perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of electrodeposited Cu/Co/Au(111) sandwiches with variable Co thickness [2–20 monolayers (ML’s)]. In optimum deposition conditions, polar magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements show that the axis of easy magnetization is perpendicular to the layers for thicknesses below ca. 7.2 ML’s. This value is among the best ever reported for the Cu/Co/Au(111) structure. While extended x-ray-absorption fine structure indicates that layers are hcp, in situ STM imaging suggests that magnetoelastic effects contribute significantly to PMA. The correlation observed between the strength of PMA and film structure is discussed in details.