Surface magnetization processes investigated by the combined surface magneto-optical Kerr effects in Fe/Cu(100) thin films

Surface and ultrathin-film anisotropies in epitaxial fcc Fe thin films grown on Cu(100) single crystals at room temperature in ultrahigh vacuum were investigated. The in situ investigations were done by the combined surface magneto-optical Kerr effect (SMOKE) method. When the applied field is perpendicular to the film surface, rotation processes occurring between out-of-plane and in-plane directions suggest the presence of an induced uniaxial (canted) anisotropy directed out of the plane of the film. This hypothesis was tested with a simple coherent rotation model.