Ferromagnetic resonance of Fe(111) thin films and Fe(111)/Cu(111) multilayers

Ferromagnetic resonance at 9.4 GHz has been used to characterize several samples of Fe single-crystal films and Fe/Cu multilayers prepared by electron-beam deposition on HF-etched, hydrogen-terminated Si(111). Resonance field data as a function of the field orientation in the film plane confirmed that Fe films and Fe/Cu multilayers grow epitaxially on Si(111) with excellent crystallinity in the [111] orientation. Moreover, we have found that the (111) plane is unique among the principal planes in cubic crystals, because it allows precise measurements of the small second-order and in-plane anisotropies as well as misorientations from the crystal plane.