Abstract:
We have made a systematic effort to characterize the Spin Reorientation Transition (SRT) in ultrathin Co films grown in situ on a W(110) single crystal capped with Au. In particular we have investigated modifications induced by varying the Co film thickness and thickness of the Au cap. We report here on recent experiments performed at beamline D1011. We have found that the magnetic response of these in-situ prepared samples shows disctinct diffrences to related samples prepared ex-situ.These new results will allow us to precisely investigate the relative importance of volume and interface contributions to the magnetic anisotropy and their influence on magnetic moments. We have indications of enhanced megnetic moments in particular for geometries where the addition of a small amount of a Au cap changes the system from in-plane to an out-of-plane geometry at constant temperature.