Spin-polarized photoemission of Fe80B20

The first spin-resolved photoemission experiment on an iron-boron amorphous alloy using a synchrotron source is presented. The experimental spin polarization of the d band of Fe80B20 has been compared with three theoretical predictions and found to be in best agreement with self-consistent spin-polarized calculations based on a supercell LMTO approach. The observed average spin polarization of the valence band is approximately twice that of 10 eV secondary electrons. Hysteresis loops for Fe80B20 determined from the I eV and 20 eV secondary-electron asymmetry are similar to those determined using the magnetooptic Kerr effect, but show a lower coercivity. The differences are attributed to a combination of different sampling depths of the two techniques and to the surface inhomogeneity of the sample.