Magnetic structure of fcc Fe films on Co(1 1 1)

The collinear magnetic structure of n (n = 1, …, 6) monolayers (ML) of Fe films deposited on Co(1 1 1) substrate is investigated by ab initio density functional theory within a generalized gradient approximation. We have found that the ferromagnetic ground state exists only for one Fe monolayer. For higher thickness, a sequence of antiferromagnetic coupling with low magnetic moments in the inner layers of films is identified as ground state.