Microscopic interfacial structures and magnetic properties of ultrathin Co/Si(111) films

The relation between magnetic properties and microscopic structure for a metal/semiconductor system is described. Cobalt films on a CoSi interface possess an in-plane easy axis of magnetization as the result of magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the Co/CoSi interface. On a Si(111)-7x7 surface, direct evidence for the formation of CoSi2 compounds at the interface was found by the appearance of doubled spot defects in scanning tunneling microscopic images. The interfacial effects cause the easy axis of magnetization of a Co/Si interface to be canted out of plane. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.