Perpendicular magnetic-anisotropy in iron films produced by laser chemical vapor-deposition of FE(CO)5

Abstract

Uniform thin films of polyc r y s t a l l i n e a -iron are obtained by decomposing a stream of Fe(C0)s in a flow reactor using 193 nm ArF excimer laser pulses. The films are optically flat and 2.6 pm thick, but have a spiculate columnar microstructure with a mean column width of 0.2 pm. The films show perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The Mossbauer spectra of the surface and bulk can be fitted by assuming an angle of 37" between the magnetization direction and the normal to the film.