Abstract
We have measured the magnetization reversal properties of ultrathin Fe/Ag(100) films in the vicinity of the reorientation phase transition using the magneto‐optical Kerr effect. Near the reorientation temperature Tr, we observe a characteristic change in the perpendicular magnetization curves M(H) from a strongly nonlinear behavior for T<Tr to a simple linear field dependence above Tr. The experimental observations are discussed within the context of the expected temperature‐dependent magnetization structure and the corresponding magnetization reversal processes.