Spin structure of rare-earth metal films

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This project aims for the investigation of the magnetic structure of surfaces of thin rare-earth metal films, with a special focus on its correlation with structural and electronic properties. Towards this purpose the films will be epitaxially grown on W(110) and Y(0001) butler layers and characterized by spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. Although rare-earth metals are used in countless applications, their spin structure has been imaged microscopically only for the elements Dy, Nd, and --in preparation towards this project-- Gd. In this project we will study the magnetic domain structure in dependence of the film thickness, the temperature, and the external field. Hereby, we will initially focus on heavy rare-earth elements (Tb, Dy, Ho, Er and Tm). Only in the second phase we will also investigate films of the light rare-earth metals Eu, Sm, and –if possible– Ce, for which very few data exist. We expect that the results of this study will significantly improve our yet very limited understanding of magnetism in the rare-earth elements, especially of their thin films.