Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243

Magnetic anisotropy and magnetization reversal processes

in Pt/Co/Pt lms
M. Kisielewski
a
, A. Maziewski
a
, M. Tekielak
a
, J. Ferr! e
b,
*, S. Lemerle
b
,
V. Mathet
c
, C. Chappert
c
a
Laboratory of Magnetism, University at Bialystok, 15-424 Bialystok, Lipowa 41, Poland
b
Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Universit! e Paris-SUD, UMR CNRS 8502, Batiment 510, Orsay Cedex 91405, France
c
Institut dElectronique Fondamentale, Universit! e Paris-SUD, UMR CNRS 8622, Batiment 220, Orsay 91405, France
Received 16 April 2002; received in revised form 24 September 2002
Abstract
The dependence of the magnetic anisotropy, magnetization reversal processes and magnetic domain patterns in Pt/
Co(h)/Pt(1 1 1) ultra-thin ferromagnetic lms have been studied, as a function of the Co layer thickness d
(0.5pdp3 nm), by magneto-optical polar Kerr magnetometry and microscopy. The anisotropy constants have been
determined from the eld-induced coherent rotation magnetization curves measured for different sets of in-plane, H
:
,
and perpendicular, H
>
, applied elds. The particular variation of Kerr rotation and anisotropy at small thickness
(do0.8 nm) is discussed accounting of CoPt alloying at the interfaces. An abrupt spin reorientation transition from out-
of-plane to in-plane has been experimentally evidenced over a narrow range of Co thickness. Irreversibility of the
magnetization reversal starting from a demagnetized state and applying positive or negative H
>
eld is studied from
the modications of the magnetic relaxation and domain patterns. Irreversibility increases with Co thickness, but
becomes negligible for an ultra-thin Co layer.
r 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PACS: 75.60; 75.70; 78.20
Keywords: Magnetic ultra-thin lms; Magnetic domain structures; Magnetic anisotropy; Magnetization reversal processes
1. Introduction
In the past few years there has been a growing
interest in ultra-thin magnetic lms properties
connected with the magnetic anisotropy, domain
structure and magnetization reversal process. Both
fundamental physics and potential applications
are concerned, in particular for information
storage technology. Ultra-thin magnetic lms with
well-dened perpendicular surface magnetic aniso-
tropy have been extensively studied [1,2]. Many
results concern the change of surface magnetic
anisotropy with the magnetic layer thickness d:
The variation of the demagnetized or eld-induced
magnetic domain structures with d; and associated
magnetization reversal dynamics in simple sand-
wiched structures have been only studied in few
cases [35]. The most extended work has been
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +33-1-6915-6063; fax: +33-1-
6915-6086.
E-mail address: ferre@lps.u-psud.fr (J. Ferr! e).
0304-8853/03/$ - see front matter r 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 0 4 - 8 8 5 3 ( 0 2 ) 0 1 3 3 3 - 1
carried out in ultra-thin Co lms sandwiched
between Au or Pt layers [5].
Sandwiched ultra-thin Co layers deposited on a
(1 1 1) oriented Au buffer and toped by a Au layer
were previously used as archetypal structures to
study surface magnetic anisotropy [6,7], magnetic
domain structure [812] and magnetization rever-
sal processes [5, 1317]. At low Co thickness, up to
d
1
; a large perpendicular surface anisotropy forces
the magnetization to align out-of-plane [18,7]. Due
to the competition between bulk and surface
anisotropies, an out-of-plane to in-plane spin
reorientation occurs at d
1
(typically 912 ML for
the Au/Co/Au structure) [6]. The Co thickness
dependence of the out-of-plane magnetic domain
structure in the demagnetized state has been
investigated in Au/Co(d)/Au with high-resolution
proximity imaging techniques like MFM [11] and
SEMPA [810]. Yafet and Gyorgy [19] predicted
rst an equilibrium H 0 domain structure in an
ultra-thin ferromagnetic layer within a narrow
anisotropy window. Analytic formulae predict well
[20,21] the drastic decrease of the characteristic
size of domains in the demagnetized state when d
increases in the vicinity of d
1
: This abrupt domain
size variation is also found for eld-induced
domain structures [15]. The dynamics of the
eld-induced magnetization reversal processes
and of associated domain structures have been
already studied for Au/Co(d)/Au but only for
d 4 ML [16]. In that case, the Co layer exhibits a
large out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy and its
magnetization reversal proceeds by rapid domain
wall motion from few nucleation centers
[12,14,16]. However, the distribution of local
propagation elds prevents from reversing some
small magnetic areas inside the large reversed
domains, giving rise to irreversibility with respect
to the sign of the applied eld [16]. Assuming a
spatial distribution of local propagation elds, our
numerical simulations [16] describe well low eld-
induced magnetization reversal dynamics and
domain shape.
The Pt/Co/Pt ultra-thin layer structure stands as
a better candidate than Au/Co/Au to investigate
magnetization reversal dynamics and domain
structure in a weakly disordered system, where
the associated dynamic creep regime can be even
clearly evidenced at low eld [22]. The rms
roughness at the CoAu or CoPt interfaces are
smaller than 2 ML [23,24]. Co and Au do not
intermix together. In counterpart, Co and Pt
intermix at CoPt interfaces over 0.35 nm [23].
However, due to the magnetic polarization of the
Pt layers and to smaller crystallite size, the
magnetic roughness at a CoPt interface is
weaker than for a CoAu interface. As a
consequence, the domain wall pinning forces due
to local disorder become far weaker in the Pt/Co/
Pt system.
The aim of this paper is to present an extensive
study of the magnetic anisotropy, domain struc-
ture and magnetization reversal dynamics in Pt/
Co(d)/Pt as a function of the Co thickness d: As
compared to other systems, the small positive
value of the second order anisotropy constant for
Co in these lms gives rise to an unusual sharp
spin reorientation transition at d
1
: The irreversi-
bility and dynamics of the magnetization reversal
are analyzed in this simple model system.
2. Experimental
Pt(3.4 nm)/Co(d)/Pt(6.5 nm) sandwiches were
deposited on Si(1 0 0)/Si
3
N
4
(35 nm) substrates by
sputtering at room temperature in a high vacuum
chamber (6 10
8
mbar). Pt and Co are deposited
at room temperature. The Pt(3.4 nm) buffer layer
is composed of a 3 nm layer sputtered in DC mode
followed by a 0.4 nm deposition in RF mode. The
DC layer allows to reduce the surface roughness
before Co deposition, and the RF thin layer favors
a large out-of-plane anisotropy. Thin lm pre-
paration and structural analysis have been de-
scribed recently for similar sandwiches deposited
on Al
2
O
3
[23,24]; comparable results are obtained
on the present Si/SiN substrates. The polycrystal-
line Pt(6.5 nm) buffer layer exhibits a nearly
perfect (1 1 1) texture. HCP or FCC polycrystalline
Co layers grow on platinum with a (1 1 1) texture,
small grain size (B7 nm) (Fig. 1) and weak rough-
ness (1 ML). A Pt(3.5 nm) top layer covers the
lms for ex situ measurements. Experimental data
are obtained over a wide range of Co thickness, i.e.
0.35odo3 nm.
M. Kisielewski et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243 232
Room temperature magnetometry measure-
ments were performed by polar magneto-optical
Kerr effect (PMOKE) using an HeNe laser light
source (l=633 nm) and based on the modulation
of the state of polarization of the light. The
PMOKE signal is automatically compensated by
Faraday rotation in a glass rod [25]. The current
generating the eld in the rod allows to derive the
MOKE rotation angle j: If y refers to the angle
between the magnetization M
S
direction and
the lm normal, j=j
max
/cos yS=mj
max
, where
brackets mean the average over all types of
involved magnetic domains, if present, and m
stands for the normalized normal magnetization
component. Perpendicular (H
>
), or in-plane (H
8
)
magnetic elds are, respectively, generated by a
coil and an electromagnet. The anisotropy con-
stants are determined self-consistently by tting
the j(H
>
, H
8
) curves. The magnetic domain
structures were imaged by a PMOKE microscope
equipped with a high-resolution computer con-
trolled cooled CCD camera.
3. PMOKE hysteresis loops and Co thickness
dependence of the Kerr rotation
The PMOKE hysteresis loops were measured in
H
>
eld, using a eld sweeping rate of 4 Oe/s.
Room temperature characteristic loops are
depicted in Fig. 2. For 0.5nmodo1.4nm (Fig. 2a),
the loops are highly square and the room
temperature coercive eld, H
c
; remains nearly
constant and equal to 170180 Oe for the con-
sidered set of samples (Fig. 3a). This comes from
the fact that nucleation controls the fast magne-
tization reversal at room temperature; nucleation
does not depend much on the Co thickness in this
Fig. 1. Bright eld electron microscopy image of Si/SiN/
Pt(6.5nm)/Co(1.6nm)/Pt(3.4nm). Image size: 0.16mm0.16mm.
-150
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
M
O
K
E

R
o
t
.

(
m
d
e
g
)
H (kOe)
0.5 nm
1.3 nm
-150
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1
M
O
K
E

R
o
t
.

(
m
d
e
g
)
H (kOe)
1.5 nm
1.6 nm
-150
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
M
O
K
E

R
o
t
.

(
m
d
e
g
)
H (kOe)
1.7 nm
1.8 nm
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 2. PMOKE hysteresis loops in H
>
eld of Pt/Co(d)/Pt
lms with different Co thickness indicated in the gures.
M. Kisielewski et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243 233
range. This situation does not prevail at low
temperature (Fig. 3b), where H
c
decreases rapidly
when increasing d; but slower than the d
5/2
law
predicted in the ultra-thin lm limit, if coercivity
originates from domain wall pinning by steps
separating at Co terraces [26]. This disagreement
can be understood since, as we shall see later, the
anisotropy varies in a non-simple manner with d:
At low Co thickness (do0.45 nm), and at room
temperature, H
c
drops rapidly to zero when
reducing d (Fig. 3a). This is a consequence of the
relative non-uniformity of lm coverage producing
a reduction of the Co coordinance and conse-
quently of the Curie temperature. For d>1.4 nm,
H
c
is reduced when increasing d (Figs. 2b and 3a)
because of the important decrease of the perpen-
dicular anisotropy. H
c
goes to zero in the vicinity
of the out-of-plane to in-plane spin reorientation
transition (d
1
E1.6 nm).
As expected, the amplitude of the PMOKE
rotation increases with d: However, as it has
already been shown previously, for example in Co/
Pt deposited on a Pt(1 1 1) single crystal [27], two
regimes can be distinguished (Fig. 4), for d below
and above 0.8 nm in the present case. This
behavior will be discussed later in close connection
with that of the magnetic anisotropy. For
d>0.8 nm, the PMOKE rotation angle j varies
linearly with d; but it extrapolates to 60 mdeg at
d=0. This general behavior has been already
observed in Pt/Co/Pt lms [27,28], and interpreted
as an induced-interface magneto-optical effect [29].
Here, it certainly arises from PtCo allowing at the
interfaces.
4. Magnetic anisotropy and the spin reorientation
transition
Assuming a magnetic single domain state, the
variation of the projection angle y of the magne-
tization M
S
on the normal lm axis with both H
>
and H
8
; can be derived from the minimization of
the total magnetic energy E
tot
E
tot
H
>
M
S
cos y H
8
M
S
sin y
K
1eff
sin
2
y K
2
sin
4
y; 1a
0
100
200
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
H
c

(
O
e
)
d (nm) (b)
0
1
2
3
4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
H
c

(
k
O
e
)
d (nm) (a)
Fig. 3. Variation of the coercive eld, H
c
; of Pt/Co(d)/Pt ultra-
thin lms at different Co thickness d: (a) at 295 K, (b) at low
temperature, T=2 K.
20
60
100
140
180
0 2 3 1
M
O
K
E

R
o
t
.

(
m
d
e
g
)
d (nm)
Fig. 4. () Room temperature PMOKE rotation at saturation
of Pt/Co(d)/Pt lms as a function of d, compared with
calculated values (&) for a sample with CoPt intermixed
interfaces over 0.41 nm.
M. Kisielewski et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243 234
where
K
1eff
2pM
2
S
K
1V
2K
1S
=d 2pM
2
S
K
1
: 1b
The dipolar-2pM
2
S
term and both the volume K
1V
and interface K
1S
anisotropy contributions are
considered.
K
1eff
has been deduced from the j(H
>
; H
8
)
variations over a large range of Co thickness
(0.35 nmodo3 nm). In order to deduce K
1V
and
K
1S
; and consistently with expression (1b), it is
usual to plot K
1eff
d as a function of d (Fig. 5). As
for the variation of the PMOKE rotation with d;
two regimes can be distinguished here for d larger
or smaller than 1 nm. The rst proposed inter-
pretation of such a behavior assumed a transition
from HCP to FCC crystallographic Co structure
at small thickness [30]. However, for do1 nm, our
results cannot be interpreted with a weak value of
K
V
; as required for FCC Co. Then, there is no sign
of a structural transition for Co that certainly
remains HCP over the fully investigated thickness
range. Another explanation could be magnetoe-
lastic effects that will give an increase of K
V
below
a certain thickness, but consistently with previous
arguments [18], the anisotropy term related to the
CoPt lattice mist should give more a surface
contribution to anisotropy. In counterpart, our
PMOKE (Fig. 4) and anisotropy (Fig. 5) data can
be well tted within a realistic model that supposes
the presence of a 0.41 nm thick CoPt alloy layer
at each interface, a value consistent with the
previously determined one (0.35 nm) [23]. This
model also explains well the non-linear variation
of the PMOKE rotation at small Co thickness
(Fig. 4).
Magnetic anisotropy has been analyzed in the
1.3odo1.8 nm range, i.e. in the regime (d>1 nm)
where j and the product K
1eff
d vary linearly
with d: Fig. 6 shows, for example, the jH
>

dependence measured for a d =1.7 nm for

different H
8
in-plane eld values. In such set of
(H
>
; H
8
) applied elds the magnetization reversal
proceeds by coherent spin rotation in a magnetic
single domain sample [7].
The saturated magnetization M
S
has been
measured for all samples by a gradient eld
magnetometer. As soon as d>1 nm, its value does
not differ much from that of the bulk,
M
S
=1420 G/cm
3
, within 15% accuracy [23]. The
inaccuracy on M
S
is principally due to the
estimation of the volume of the Co layer. For
example, from the tting the j(H
>
; H
8
) set of
curves, one deduces K
1eff
=0.43 10
6
erg/cm
3
and a small positive value for K
2
=0.06 10
6
erg/
cm
3
for the d=1.7 nm thick Co layer. The values
obtained for K
1eff
and K
2
are plotted in Fig. 7 for
different d values in 1.31.8 nm thickness range.
Then, due to the small value of K
2
; which does not
depend of d; in a coherent rotation model one
expects a very sharp second order spin reorienta-
tion transition when increasing the Co layer
thickness. Within this simple model, up to
d
1
=1.605 nm (for which K
1eff
=0), the anisotropy
is out-of-plane, while above d
2
=1.625 nm (for
-1
0
1
0 1 2 3
K
1
e
f
f

x

d


(
e
r
g
.
c
m
-
2
)
d (nm)
Fig. 5. Variation of the product K
eff
d as a function of d.
-120
-80
-40
0
40
80
120
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
M
O
K
E

R
o
t
.

(
m
d
e
g
)
H (kOe)
1
2
4
3
5
Fig. 6. PMOKE rotation for a 1.7 nm thick Co layer, measured
as a function of H
>
for different H
8
values: (1) H
8
=0.09 kOe,
(2) H
8
=0.39 kOe, (3) H
8
=0.84 kOe, (4) H
8
=1.61 kOe and (5)
H
8
=3.12 kOe. The solid curves are ts choosing K
1eff
=0.43 10
6
erg/cm
3
and K
2
=0.06 10
6
erg/cm
3
.
M. Kisielewski et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243 235
which K
1eff
=2K
2
), the magnetization vector
falls back into the plane (Fig. 7). In that case, one
expects an easy cone spin conguration in a very
narrow Co thickness range (1.605odo1.625 nm),
with angle y
e
; where sin2y
e
=K
1eff
=2K
2
: More-
over, using the expression (1b), one deduces
reasonable values for K
1S
=(0.7070.05) erg/cm
2
and K
1V
=(4.170.7) 10
6
erg/cm
3
.
In reality, the situation is more complicated
since domain phases due to long range dipole
coupling may alter the nature of the spin
reorientation transition [31,32]. Complex phase
diagrams have been calculated in zero eld which
predicts that a domain state appears rst before a
canted homogeneous phase when increasing the
Co thickness d in the vicinity of the transition.
Obviously, a rather small applied H
>
eld will
restore a single domain state. This complex
situation enlarges the real transition width. From
PMOKE loops one estimates the ratio M
r
=M
S
between the remnant to saturated perpendicular
magnetization. M
r
=M
S
is found equal to 1 for
d=1.5 nm, 0.20 for d=1.6 nm and close to zero
for d=1.7.
Independently, from Longitudinal MOKE
(LMOKE) measurements, we have shown that
the ratio M
r
=M
S
becomes constant and equal to
0.87 for dX1.7 nm. In that case, a non-square
shape of the in-plane magnetization loop is
expected because of the isotropy generated by
the misorientation between crystallite in-plane
axes. For d=1.6 nm, it is not simple to deduce
M
r
=M
S
from LMOKE because of its sensitivity to
the out-of-plane magnetization component.
The above results prove that a remnant single
domain state is surely achieved at all thicknesses d
up to 1.5 nm and at and above 1.7 nm. In
counterpart, for d=1.6 nm, a multidomain state
is certainly present. Thus, one estimates that the
real width of the spin reorientation transition is
smaller than 0.2 nm for our Pt/Co/Pt set of
samples. The spin reorientation transition is
consequently quite abrupt since (d
2
d
1
)/
d
1
o0.125, as compared to other systems, i.e. 0.4
for Co/Au(1 1 1) [33] or 0.8 for Au/Co/Au(1 1 1)
[34].
5. Magnetization reversal processes
To have a rst insight on the dynamics of the
magnetization reversal, it is usual to consider the
time(t)-dependent relaxation of the so-called mag-
netic aftereffect [35] after the following procedure:
(i) a large enough negative perpendicular eld,
H
>
to0 H
S
o0; is rst applied to saturate
the magnetic lm (H
S
> H
c
) up to the time t=0,
(ii) a positive eld H
>
t > 0 H
d
oH
c
is then
applied suddenly at t 0: Thus, the magnetization
relaxes from M
S
to M
S
saturated states. Let us
consider rst the case of samples with very square
hysteresis loops, i.e. for 0.5pdp1.4 nm. As
already observed [35,5], the magnetization reversal
rate increases exponentially with H
d
(Fig. 8a).
Introducing the demagnetization time, t
1=2
; at
which the PMOKE rotation and then the net
magnetization vanishes, all magnetic aftereffect
relaxation curves at a given Co thickness, may be
tted on a universal curve (Fig. 8b) as a function
of the reduced time t=t
1=2
whatever the applied
eld is [35]. This is expected for a eld-induced
domain wall dominated process.
On the basis of magnetic domain imaging
(Figs. 9a,b and 10a,b for d=0.5 or 1.3 nm,
respectively), we show that magnetization effec-
tively reverses by a pure domain wall mechanism
[12]. As expected [35], the domain wall velocity is
found to be constant with time for a given H
>
eld
-1
0
1
2
3
1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
K
1
,

K
2

(
1
0
6

e
r
g
.
c
m
-
3
)
d (nm)
K
1
- 2 K
2
Calculated
reorientation
region
Fig. 7. Variation of the K
1
and K
2
anisotropy constants with
Co lms thickness. Solid line: dependence of K
1
on d, tted
using formula (1b) in the 0.51.8 nm range, with K
1S
=0.7 erg/
cm
2
and K
1V
=4.1 10
6
erg/cm
3
. The dotted line represents the
best t for 2K
2
.
M. Kisielewski et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243 236
value. As already demonstrated in Au/Co(d)/Au
[14,15], the domain wall roughness increases with
d (compare Figs. 9a and 10a) as a consequence of
both the reduction in anisotropy that decrease the
domain wall pinning energy and favors wall
curvature, and the increase of the magnetostatic
energy. This behavior is also depicted in numerical
simulations [36].
The time dependence of the magnetization
reversal, mt; is usually described within the
FattuzoLabrunes model that considers both
nucleation events and domain wall motion [35]:
mt 1 2 expf 2k
2
1 pt 1=k
0:5pt 1=k
2
1 1=k
exp pt 0:51 pt=k
2
g; 2
where p is the nucleation rate per unit time and k is
related to the ratio between domain nucleation
rate and wall velocity. k is equal to 0 or N;
respectively, for dominated-nucleation or wall
propagation mechanisms. As mentioned above,
the magnetic aftereffect relaxation curves mea-
sured for the d=0.5 and 1.3 nm thick Co layers
under different elds, may be plotted on a
universal curve in a reduced time scale, t=t
1=2
(Fig. 8). Results are well tted by expression (2),
using a large k value. This picture agrees well with
the presence of very few nucleation centers
(Figs. 9a and 10a).
At larger Co thickness, i.e. for d=1.5 nm, the
time dependence of the magnetic aftereffect no
longer ts on a universal curve (Fig. 11), and it has
difculty to saturate at long time. Then, magnetic
relaxation curves can be only described by expres-
sion (2) in the rst initial stage of the relaxation,
up to about t
1=2
; i.e. in a time range with
stochastical behavior. As shown in Fig. 12a,b,
the magnetic domain structure at long time
becomes very complex. In this case, Fattuzo
Labrune hypotheses are no longer valid because
of: (i) the dendritic-like type of wall motion, (ii) the
existence of many internal persisting non-reversed
magnetic areas inside the large reversed domains.
The resulting Swiss cheese domain structure is
similar to that observed previously in the Au/
Co(0.8 nm)/Au sample [16]. At long time, only
these small non-reversed domains participate to
the magnetization reversal. Their position and size
depend on the non-homogeneity of the local
coercivity and of the magnetostatic effect which
becomes more inuent at larger Co thickness. This
new mechanism is present, but only weakly
efcient in the d=1.3 nm thick Co layer. In this
case, very small non-reversed magnetic cannot be
detected inside the large reversed domains by
optical microscopy during the magnetic aftereffect
process (Fig. 10a,b). As we shall see later, they can
be revealed from the so-called indirect remagneti-
zation R
I
process. In the restricted 1.3o
do1.55 nm range, this slowing down of the
relaxation at long time (Fig. 11) becomes more
and more pronounced for thicker Co layers.
For the d=1.6 nm thick Co lm, i.e. very close
to the spin reorientation critical thickness, the
-150
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
0 200 400 600 800
M
O
K
E

R
o
t
.

(
m
d
e
g
)
t (s)
1
2
3
4
(a)
-150
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
0 1 2 3
M
O
K
E

R
o
t
.

(
m
d
e
g
)
t/t
1/2 (b)
Fig. 8. (a) Time dependence of the magnetic aftereffect for the
d=1.3 nm thick Co layer, with (1) H
d
=161 Oe, (2) H
d
=152 Oe,
(3) H
d
=146 Oe, (4) H
d
=142 Oe. (b) Same plot in a reduced
t=t
1=2
scale.
M. Kisielewski et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243 237
magnetization reversal proceeds by a nucleation-
dominated type of mechanism [12,15,37,38].
Magneto-optic microscopy cannot reveal these
nanometer scale nucleation entities. As depicted
in Fig. 2, the remnant magnetization is only 20%
from saturation. This means that switching off the
eld from H
S
to zero, induces rst a quasi-
instantaneous decrease of the magnetization.
More generally, when applying a H
>
eld, the
magnetization reverses simultaneously at many
nanometer scale nucleation centers, giving rise to a
fast reversal at short time (Fig. 13). Afterwards,
the domain wall propagates slowly around these
centers over limited distances (smaller than
0.1 mm), giving only rise to a very slow time
dependent effect. This has been demonstrated
directly from the quite uniform and progressive
magnetization reversal, imaged by PMOKE time
resolved microscopy. Magnetic aftereffect occurs
even in H
d
o0 in this Co layer (Fig. 13). Similar
Fig. 9. Comparison between the R
D
and R
I
processes for the d=0.5 nm thick Co layer (grey: spin-up state, black: spin-down state). (a)
to (d): magnetic domain structure (image size: 220 mm175 mm): (a) eld-induced demagnetized state obtained at t t
1=2
before the
R
D
process, (b) after a R
D
process under H
d
=193 Oe at t t
1=2
0:2 s; (c) eld-induced demagnetized state obtained at t t
1=2
before
the R
I
process, after a R
I
process under H
d
=193 Oe at t t
1=2
0:2 s; (e) and (f): magnetic domain structure growing around a
nucleation center visible as a small dark point on the image (e), for a R
I
process (image size: 440 mm350 mm), (e)eld-induced
demagnetized state obtained at t t
1=2
before the R
I
process, and (f) after a R
I
process under H
d
=193 Oe at t t
1=2
0:2 s:
M. Kisielewski et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243 238
behavior, due to dipolar effects, has been found in
other thick magnetic lms such as garnet [39].
As recently reported for the Au/Co(0.8 nm)/Au
lm [16], starting from a H
>
eld-induced
demagnetized state, the irreversibility of the
magnetization reversal process with the sign of
the applied eld has been investigated here for a
set of Pt/Co(h)/Pt lms with different Co thick-
ness. Preliminary results were reported recently in
Ref. [40]. We will distinguish the so-called direct
remagnetization (R
D
) from indirect remagnetiza-
tion (R
I
) process. In both cases the sample is rst
prepared using the same procedures (i) and (ii),
already presented for magnetic aftereffect, except
that the eld H
d
is maintained until it reaches the
demagnetized state at time t
1=2
: Then, the R
D
process is nothing more than the aftereffect for
t > t
1=2
in the presence of the eld H
d
; while for the
R
I
process, the eld is suddenly reversed to H
d
at
t
1=2
: Typical normalized R
D
and R
I
relaxation
curves are shown in Fig. 14 for three characteristic
lm thickness, d=0.5, 1.3 and 1.5 nm. As for R
D
;
the R
I
relaxation magnetization rate increases
exponentially with H
d
(Fig. 15) and can be plotted
on a universal curve as a function of t=t
1=2
for
different H
d
values. For t > t
1=2
; the R
I
curve
Fig. 10. Comparison between the R
D
and R
I
processes for the d=1.3 nm thick Co layer (grey: spin-up state, black: spin-down state)
magnetic domain structure far from the nucleation center (image size: 220 mm175 mm). (a) eld-induced demagnetized state obtained
at t t
1=2
; before the R
D
process, (b) after a R
D
process under H
d
=196 Oe at t t
1=2
0:2 s; (c) eld-induced demagnetized state
obtained at t t
1=2
; before the R
I
process, and (d) after a R
I
process under H
d
=196 Oe at t t
1=2
0:2 ssmall domains (in black)
expand inside the large white domain.
-1
0
1
0 1 2 3
N
o
r
m
a
l
i
z
e
d

M
O
K
E
t/t
1/2
3
3
1
2
Fig. 11. Typical normalized relaxation curves of the magnetic
aftereffect in a reduced t=t
1=2
time scale plot for Co layers with
different thickness: (1) d=0.5 nm, (2) d=1.3 nm, (3) d=1.5 nm.
M. Kisielewski et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243 239
relaxes more rapidly to M
S
than the correspond-
ing R
D
curve to M
S
(Fig. 14), giving rise to an
asymmetry between R
D
and R
I
relaxation curves
with respect to the M 0 axis. This behavior is
similar to that observed previously in Au/
Co(0.8 nm)/Au [16]. The asymmetry coefcient
A, dened by the ratio between the difference and
sum of the absolute values of the dM=dt slopes for
R
I
and R
D
processes at a given time t; traduces the
irreversibility in domain wall movement for 7H
d
:
Since the PMOKE signal is measured over the
laser beam spot area (B0.2 mm
2
), we have chosen
to estimate the asymmetry A for a domain wall
initially positioned in the central part of the
image, in order to eliminate convolution effects
at the spot boundary. For the thinnest (d=0.5 nm)
Co layer, the asymmetry coefcient value,
A=0.0470.02 is close to zero, indicating that the
domain wall moves in a quite reversible manner.
This can be checked directly by comparing the
domain patterns resulting from equivalent R
D
and
R
I
processes in 7H
d
elds (Fig. 9ad). A small
overestimation of A comes from the presence of
the nucleation center in the light spot area; this
center can serve also to initiate magnetization
reversal around it in negative eld (Fig. 9f). To our
knowledge, this is the rst evidence of such a
perfect wall reversibility reported for an ultra-thin
magnetic lm with perpendicular anisotropy. One
can explain it since the Co/Pt interfaces are very
smooth and Pt layers are partly spin polarized, two
facts favoring an easy wall motion. Magneto-
optical imaging (Fig. 9ad) reveals more clearly
this effect since the smooth domain wall moves
forth (H
d
> 0) and back (H
d
o0) in a very regular
manner. In counterpart, the asymmetry of A
parameter is especially important at larger Co
thickness (Fig. 14) and increases to 0.7970.04 for
d=1.3 nm up to 0.9370.03 for d=1.5 nm. As
previously reported [16], and directly demon-
strated for the d=1.3 nm thick Co layer starting
from its demagnetized state (Fig. 10), no black
magnetically non-reversed patches are detected
magneto-optically inside the large reversed
white domain (Fig. 10a,b). This is only due to
the limited spatial resolution of optics. Nanometer
size non-reversed areas (in black) are revealed by
the R
I
process (Fig. 10c,d) because they act as
nucleation centers for domain wall propagation in
reverse eld, giving rise to a so-called Swiss
cheese domain structure, as already observed in
Au/Co(0.8 nm)/Pt lms [16]. Note that local
domain wall velocity remains comparable for both
R
D
and R
I
processes. Since the number of these
nucleation centers does not depend on time, the
change in magnetization is due both to the wall
Fig. 12. High-resolution (100 mm85 mm) magneto-optical images of eld-induced magnetic patterns for the d=1.5 nm thick Co layer
initially saturated (black) in a large negative eld. Snapshots for a R
D
process, after applying a positive H
>
=101 Oe eld: (a) during
0.2 s, (b) 0.5 s, and (c) 1.7 s.
-150
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
0 100 200 300
M
O
K
E

R
o
t
.

(
d
e
g
)
t (s)
1
2
3
4
5
6
Fig. 13. PMOKE magnetic aftereffect relaxation curves for the
d=1.6 nm thick Co layer in a perpendicular eld: (1)
H
d
=132 Oe, (2) H
d
=100 Oe, (3) H
d
=67 Oe, (4) H
d
=34 Oe,
(5) H
d
=0 Oe, and (6) H
d
=31 Oe.
M. Kisielewski et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243 240
motion of the jagged domain interface and around
the internal nucleation centers (Fig. 10c,d).
A dendritic domain pattern is observed in the
d=1.5 nm thick Co layer (Fig. 16a,b), character-
ized by a low quality factor Q
eff
K
1eff
=2pM
2
S

0:07: At this Co thickness, close to d
1
; the R
D
eld-
induced domain (in white) rst grows rapidly and
dendritically up to cover a large part of the lm,
but leaving many small non-reversed (black) areas
(Fig. 16a,b). Because of the slow magnetic after-
effect of these remaining areas, the full reversal can
be achieved only in higher eld. Similar type of
domain structure has been also observed in CoNi/
Pt multilayers [41]. Whereas the domain pattern
does not evolve much with time (Fig 16a,b) in a
R
D
process, the R
I
process gives rise to large
pattern changes; it gives local magnetization
reversal inside the dendritic structure to provide
a more segregated Swiss cheese white domain
structure. There is some continuity in the magne-
tization reversal behavior when going closer to d
1
:
For example, if d=1.6 nm, magnetization seems to
reverse uniformly only by nucleation and no
domain structure can be seen magneto-optically
either in the R
D
or R
I
processes.
6. Conclusion
The magnetic anisotropy of Pt/Co(d)/Pt ultra-
thin lms deposited on a Si/SiN substrate has been
determined from magneto-optical magnetometry
over a wide range of Co thickness. Anisotropy
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
M
/
M
S
t/t
1/2 (b)
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
M
/
M
S
t/t
1/2 (a)
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
M
/
M
S
t/t
1/2 (c)
Fig. 14. () Typical renormalized magnetic aftereffect (for t>0) (R
D
curve for H H
d
when t=t
1=2
> 1) and (- - - ) R
I
curve in
H=H
d
(for t=t
1=2
> 1) for three Co layers with thickness: (a) d=0.5 nm, (b) d=1.3 nm, and (c) d = 1.5 nm.
-0.12
-0.1
-0.08
-0.06
-0.04
-0.02
0
0.02
0 200 400 600 800
M
O
K
E

R
o
t
.

(
d
e
g
)
t (s)
1
2
3
4
5
Fig. 15. Time dependence of the PMOKE rotation for the d =
1.3 nm thick Co layer. The eld value is xed to H
d
until it
reaches the demagnetized state. Then, it is reversed suddenly at
t
1/2
to the inverse valueH
d
: (1) H
d
=163 Oe, (2) H
d
=150 Oe,
(3) H
d
=144 Oe, (4) H
d
=140 Oe, and (5) H
d
=138 Oe.
M. Kisielewski et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 260 (2003) 231243 241
constants are deduced from the t of magnetiza-
tion curves measured in the presence of both
perpendicular and in-plane elds. Thus, data is
collected only for coherent spin rotation in a single
domain magnetic state. The second order aniso-
tropy constant, K
2
; is found to be positive, but
reduced from its bulk counterpart. As a conse-
quence, in the coherent rotation limit, a very
narrow thickness-dependent spin reorientation
transition ((d
2
d
1
)=0.02 nm) is expected for this
system. However, at a real spin reorientation
transition a remnant multi-domain state is always
expected. This only spreads the width (d
2
d
1
) of
the transition by no more than one order of
magnitude, that it is still 6 times narrower than
that observed in Au/Co(d)/Au wedge samples [34].
A more detailed investigation of the domain state
for Co layer thickness in the spin reorientation
region could be eventually done by vectorial
analysis of the magnetization using magneto-
optics but measurements at a mesoscopic scale
are required to treat completely this problem.
The magnetization reversal processes have been
extensively studied here over a large range of Co
thickness, by PMOKE magnetometry and micro-
scopy. The domain structure imaging brings much
information on the magnetization reversal. For the
thinnest Co layers (d=0.5 nm), the magnetization
reversal starting from a eld-induced demagne-
tized state is found to be almost perfectly
reversible with the eld direction (R
D
and R
I
procedures). The irreversibility, measured by the
introduced A asymmetry parameter, strongly
increases with d as a consequence of the relative
increase of the width of the propagation eld
distribution and of the magnetostatic effect. This
gives rise to non-reversed areas in a R
D
process
acting as nucleation centers for a subsequent R
I
process.
From the present study, Pt/Co/Pt can be
certainly considered as an archetypal system to
develop further studies on the spin reorientation
phenomenon.
Acknowledgements
This work has been performed in the frame the
NANOMAG project, supported by the Eur-
opean Science Foundation. M.K., A.M. and M.T.
have also beneted of the Polish Grant Nb
2P03B06515.
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