Canted Magnetic Moments at the Gd (0001) Surface

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Abstract
With spin polarized electron spectroscopies, we have investigated ordered Gd (0001) films deposited on W (110). The photoemission features of the gadolinium 5d surface state, the 4f levels, and the background exhibit considerable spin polarization along the same direction in the plane of the film, indicative of ferromagnetic coupling between the surface and the bulk. The 4f spin polarized photoemission data provides strong evidence that the surface 4f polarization differs from the bulk 4f polarization for Gd (000l). Our temperature dependent measurements with spin polarized secondary electron spectroscopy conclusively establishes that the surface of clean Gd (0001) possesses a perpendicular polarization component which persists to an enhanced surface Curie temperature. SMall amounts of contamination at the surface result in the disappearance of the perpendicular component and, therefore, a more perfect ferromagnetic coupling between the surface and the bulk.