We present a detailed real-space spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) study of the magnetic domain structure of Gd(0001) films epitaxially grown on W(110). To find optimal preparation conditions, the influence of the substrate temperature during deposition and of the postgrowth annealing temperature was investigated. Our results show that the lowest density of surface defects, such as step edges as well as screw and edge dislocations, is obtained for room-temperature deposition and subsequent annealing at 900 K. SP-STM data reveal small-size magnetic domains at lower annealing temperatures, evidently caused by pinning at grain boundaries and other crystalline defects. The coverage-dependent magnetic domain structure of optimally prepared Gd films was systematically investigated. For low coverage up to about 80 atomic layers (AL), we observe $\mu \mathrm{m}$-size domains separated by domain walls which are oriented approximately along the $\left[1\overline{1}0\right]$ direction of the underlying W substrate. Above a critical film thickness ${\mathrm{\Theta }}_{\text{crit}}\approx (100\pm 20)$ AL, we identify stripe domains, indicative of a spin reorientation transition from in plane to out of plane. In agreement with existing models, the periodicity of the stripe domains increases the further the coverage exceeds ${\mathrm{\Theta }}_{\text{crit}}$. While the orientation of the stripe domains is homogeneous over large distances just above ${\mathrm{\Theta }}_{\text{crit}}$, we find a characteristic zigzag pattern at $\mathrm{\Theta }\gtrsim 200$ AL and irregular stripe domains beyond 500 AL. Intermediate minima and maxima of the magnetic signal indicate the nucleation of branching domains. The results are discussed in terms of various contributions to the total magnetic energy, such as the magnetocrystalline, magnetostatic, and magnetoelastic energy density.

• Received 16 February 2022
• Revised 3 May 2022
• Accepted 10 May 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.105.174431