Enhanced Kerr rotation in electrodeposited nickel films

Abstract

High quality nickel films were electrodeposited directly onto n-GaAs using galvanostatic control. It was seen that by varying the current, density the crystallographic orientation of the films could be controlled. For a current density of 15 mA/cm2, a highly dominant (220) crystallographic orientation was obtained. Magnetic measurements revealed a strong uniaxial anisotropy in these films. Moreover, Kerr spectroscopy measurements (1.4 to 4.5 eV) showed an enhanced Kerr rotation of -0.17° at 3.2 eV, which may be attributed to the strong magnetic anisotropy and the exceptional crystal quality of the films. © 1999 IEEE.