Magnetic properties of self-assembled Fe nanoislands on BaTiO3(001)

The coercivity and saturation magnetization of ultrathin films of Fe on a BaTiO3(001) single crystal substrate have been determined using magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) as a function of annealing temperature. Films deposited at room temperature exhibit bulk-like properties, whereas with increasing annealing temperature coercivity increases and saturation magnetization decreases. Investigations with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) reveal that annealing causes a morphology transformation from a continuous flat film, which completely covers the substrate, to nanoislands via self-assembled growth. The morphology and size of the islands imply stronger pinning of domain walls or complex magnetic structures as the origin of their particular magnetic properties.