Fe/GaAs(0 0 1) and Fe/GaSb(0 0 1) heterostructures: epitaxial growth and magnetic properties

Abstract We describe structural and magnetic properties of epitaxially grown Fe/GaAs(0 0 1) and Fe/GaSb(0 0 1) heterostructures. X-ray diffraction, He + ion channeling and Rutherford backscattering experiments show the good crystalline quality of the 80 nm thick Fe films, which are in compressive strain on GaAs and in tensile strain on GaSb, as expected. The 80 nm thick Fe films grown on the two substrates have the same magnetic properties as bulk α-Fe. Finally, we show that the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy present in 1.7 nm Fe/GaAs(0 0 1) structures, up to now unexplained, depends neither on the GaAs surface reconstructions nor on a misorientation of the (0 0 1)GaAs surface.