Nanostructuring at Oblique Angle Deposition of Cobalt

Thin Co films have been deposited on inclined Si (001) substrates by electron beam evaporation. It is shown that the structure of the films strongly depends on the angle of inclination of the substrate to the direction of motion of the deposited particles. It was found that at angles of incidence of the evaporated material of more than 80 degrees (grazing deposition), arrays of free-standing Co nanocolumns with a cross section of 25 nm and an aspect ratio (length/transverse size) of at least 15 are formed on the substrate surface. In this case, the magnetic easy axis of the film is oriented along the axis of the nanocolumns, which leads to the appearance of a normal component of the magnetization vector to the film surface.