Magnetic anisotropy of ultrathin Fe films grown on vicinal Si (111)

We have investigated magnetic anisotropy of ultrathin Fe films grown on vicinal Si (111) with 4° miscut towards [11-2] direction. Spin reorientation transition (SRT) from out-of-plane to in-plane proceeds in a wider thickness range than on flat substrates. Meanwhile, the easy axis of in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy varies from [11-2] to [-110] with an intermediate state of approximate four-fold symmetry. The evolution of magnetic anisotropy is attributed to competition of surface magnetic anisotropy, first-order magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and step induced magnetic anisotropy from symmetry breaking and dipolar interactions.