Influence of oxygen adsorption on perpendicular anisotropy in amorphous Gd-Fe and Gd-Co films

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Abstract
Influence of oxygen adsorption on the perpendicular anisotropy in vacuum‐deposited amorphous Gd‐Fe and Gd‐Co films was studied. The films, typically 500 Å thick, were prepared by coevaporation technique. As for oxygen‐free films, a perpendicular anisotropy of 3×105 erg/cm3 was found, but in oxygen‐adsorbed films the perpendicular magnetization was not found. This difference is due to the increase of the magnetization as well as the decrease of the anisotropy resulting from the oxidation of the surface layer. It was further found that Gd‐Fe films of only 100 Å in thickness exhibit the perpendicular magnetization if the films are not exposed to the air. As for Gd‐Co films, the magnetization was in‐plane in as‐deposited samples, but slight increase of the anisotropy was found in oxygen‐adsorbed films during annealing at 200–300 °C.