Magnetic anisotropy in epitaxial Cu/Ni/Cu/Si(111) ultrathin films studied by magneto-optical Kerr effect and Brillouin spectroscopy

Epitaxial ultrathin Cu/Ni/Cu Þlms with Ni thickness of 3 and 6 nm, have been grown by UHV evaporation on the Si(1 1 1)-7]7 surface. Magneto-optical Kerr-e¤ect measurements have shown that the preferential direction of magnetization lies in the Þlm plane for both Þlms. Brillouin light scattering was then exploited to study the spin-wave dispersion as a function of both the applied magnetic Þeld and the wave vector direction. This enabled us to determine, in addition to the other magnetic parameters, both the in-plane and the out-of-plane anisotropy constants. This is the Þrst Brillouin scattering investigation of magnetic anisotropy in Ni Þlms