Surface Science Group
Department of Physics and Astronomy
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Surface Science Group |
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| We are interested in thin-films which are useful for computer disk head sensors and MRAM. In general, the phenomenon of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) pervades this subject which involves RKKY oscillations that couple magnetic information from one material to another. Tied closely to this is the need to determine Fermi surface parameters. Heavily nested regions of the Fermi surface determine the period of the oscillations in real-space. |
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We conduct angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) using a display analyzer. This instrument allows us to measure the electronic structure in cross-sectional slices through the Brillouin zone by collecting photoelectron angular distributions. We can compare these directly with theoretical predictions extracted from band structure which we show in our study of the 3d bands of Cu(001). One of our interests is to use the polarization-dependence and dichroism (such as that we see in Co/Cu(001) and Co/Cu(111)) in photoemission to extract more information on the spin variable in the electronic band structure. |
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