Growth and magnetism of low-temperature deposited Fe/Si(111) films as an intermediate layer for suppression of silicide formation

Low temperature (LT: 100 K) deposition of Fe on Si(111)7 x 7 surface effectively reduces Fe-silicide formation at the Fe/Si interface, as compared with conventional room temperature (RT) growth. The interface condition of 5-15 monolayers (ML) LT-Fe/Si(111) remains stable at least up to 350 K. Si segregation was observed after annealing at 400 K. LT-grown Fe films also reveal a relatively flat surface morphology with a roughness of 0.4-0.6 nm. Thus, LT-Fe films were suggested as an intermediate layer for the subsequent RT-growth of Fe. We use a single domain model of magnetic anisotropy to fit the magnetic coercivity evolution of n ML RT-Fe on 5 ML LT-Fe/Si(111). Accordingly, we deduce the surface and volume-contributed magnetic anisotropy for discussion. (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3537832]