The films used in this study were grown using ion-beam sputtering (IBS) in a chamber with a base pressure of 2×10-8 torr. The deposition system is described in more detail elsewhere.[4] All samples used in this study were grown at a substrate temperature of 200°. All comparisons between films grown on glass and single-crystal substrates will be made on samples which were deposited simultaneously so as to eliminate any reproducibility issues.
The substrates used in this study were glass coverslips, MgO (001), Ge(001) and Al2O3(1120). The MgO and Al2O3 substrates were cleaned according to a recipe reported by Farrow and coworkers.[5] The glass and Ge substrates were rinsed in solvents. All films are capped with a 200Å Ge oxidation barrier. The magnetic and structural properties of the films are stable for at least one year.