DETERMINATION OF THE SURFACE MAGNETIZATION OF FE(110) BY SPIN-POLARIZED LOW-ENERGY ELECTRON-DIFFRACTION

Exchange and spin‐orbit scattering asymmetries of spin‐polarized low‐polarized low‐energy electrons from Fe(110) are measured at room temperature for several beams at constant energies as functions of the polar angle of incidence (“rocking curves”). Corresponding calculations by means of a relativistic multiple scattering formalism gave results in good agreement with the experimental data. The sensitivity of part of the calculated curves to changes in the layer magnetization implies an enhancement of the topmost layer magnetization by about 36 to 40% relative to the bulk and possibly a reduction in the second layer. Further, a dominance of spin‐down over spin‐up inelastic scattering is deduced associated with 3p → 3d excitation. Copyright © 1990 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA