Preparation and Magnetic Properties of Epitaxial Fe/Au (001) Superlattice Films

bec Fe (001)/Au (001) superlattice films were prepared on Au (001) buffer layers by ultra-high vacuum evaporation. Epitaxial structures were studied by X-ray diffraction and RHEED. The structure of the superlattice films was strongly influenced by the structure of the Au buffer layer. The surface anisotropy energy constant K
s
is estimated to be about 0.3 erg/cm
²
, considerably differing from that of polycrystalline bec Fe (110)/Au (111) superlattice films.