Morphological and magnetic analysis of Fe nanostructures on W(110) by using scanning tunneling microscopy and Lorentz microscopy

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics Vol. 55; no. 2S; pp. 2 - 7
• Main Authors: Schaefer, Erik D., Chernov, Sergey V., Sapozhnik, Alexey A., Kostyuk, Dmytro M., Zaporozhchenko, Anna V., Protsenko, Serhiy I., Bode, Matthias, Nepijko, Sergej A., Elmers, Hans-Joachim, Schönhense, Gerd
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Japan Society of Applied Physics 01-02-2016
• ISSN: 0021-4922; 1347-4065
• DOI: 10.7567/JJAP.55.02BC11

We investigated morphological features and magnetic properties of epitaxial Fe nanostructures (films, stripes and nanoparticles) on a W(110) surface with monoatomic steps preferentially along the direction. The nanostructures were prepared in ultra-high vacuum by using electron-beam evaporation and subsequent annealing at different temperatures. Scanning tunneling microscopy measurements in-situ revealed elongated Fe nanostructures with aspect ratios of up to . The observable shape and orientation (along or perpendicular to the monoatomic steps of the substrate) of the nanostructures depended substantially on the preparation parameters. By capping the system with 7 monolayers of Pt, the magnetic properties of selected Fe nanostructures could be analyzed ex-situ using Lorentz microscopy revealing diversified results. Depending on the size and shape, different magnetization structures, such as single domain, two domains and vortex, were observed. A precise intensity profile analysis demonstrated that the magnetic field values of different magnetic structures are close to each other and equal 2.4 T.