Magnetic properties of Co nanocolumns fabricated by oblique-angle deposition

The magnetic properties of columnar Co films on SiO2 substrates fabricated by oblique-angle incident thermal evaporation at room temperature were systematically examined by multiple techniques, including magnetic force microscopy (MFM), magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Films with thickness ranging from 50 to 500 nm were deposited at the incident angles θ (with respect to substrate normal) from 0° to 85°. For films with thickness of ∼500 nm, the SEM shows the column tilt angle β increases as the θ angle increases and β