Spin-resolved photoemission study of i n s i t u grown epitaxial Fe layers on W(110) (abstract)

Spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of in situ grown epitaxial Fe layers on W(110) shows bulklike behavior for more than two atomic Fe layers.1 For about 10 and more atomic layers of Fe we find a spin polarization of about −100% near the Fermi energy and +80% between 1 and 3 eV binding energy. For the bilayer of Fe drastic changes in the spin-resolved spectra and a 20% enhancement of the spin polarization compared to the bulk value are observed. The monolayer of Fe is ferromagnetically ordered with a spin polarization reduced by about 50%. A switching of the easy magnetization axis from [001] to [11̄0] is observed in the spin polarization with decreasing Fe layer thickness near d=(65±5) Å.