Optimization of Magnetic Susceptibility Measurements on Ultrathin Films

Abstract

The magnetic properties of ultrathin magnetic films can be investigated in situ by the temperature dependent magnetic ac susceptibility x(T) using an optical technique - the surface magneto-optic Kerr effect (SMOKE). The performance of the ac susceptibility measurements depends primarily on the optical setup used to detect the Kerr effect and on the mechanical stability of the system. Modifications to the optical setup and the sample holder have significantly reduced the influence of noise due to mechanical vibrations. It has been found that the signal-to-noise ratio has been improved by at least a factor of 2.5 with respect to the previous setup, giving a detection limit of 15 nrad/Oe. This improvement makes measurements on antiferromagnetic ultrathin films feasible. Their susceptibility response has been estimated to be around 20-30 nrad/Oe. As a test study for the performance of the improved setup, transverse susceptibility measurements on 2 ML Fe/W(110) ferromagnetic ultrathin films are presented. These transverse susceptibility signals show interesting features. They have a narrow linewidth and are larger than expected from anisotropy considerations and other work. Also, it has been found that the in-plane and out-of-plane transverse susceptibilities arise from different mechanisms. Several scenarios that might explain the origin, size and shape of the observed signals are discussed.