Fig. 2. Miscut characterization with HRXRD and the resultant correlation between IP and OOP states.

(A) The crystal miscut δθ, defined as the included angle between the (110) crystal plane and the film plane, is a function of the azimuthal angle ϕ in the xy plane. δθ_max represents the maximum miscut angle that occurs at an azimuthal angle denoted as ϕ|_θmax. δθ_yz ≡ δθ (ϕ = 90°) is the crystal miscut projected on the yz plane, which is also the SRT plane. (B) The crystal miscut δθ is measured as a function of the azimuthal angle ϕ using HRXRD. Data are fitted with a sine function, shown as the red curve, from which δθ_max is extrapolated to be 1.13 ± 0.05° and δθ_yz to be 0.53 ± 0.05°. (C) Schematics for the correlation between IP and OOP states across the SRT. A single angular variable, θ_M, represents the net magnetization direction (M). The correlated IP and OOP states are represented by arrows of the same color (up and left in blue and down and right in red). (D) Magnetization components $m_y$ (dashed) and $m_z$ (solid) plotted as a function of the effective OOP anisotropy $K_{\text{OOP}}^{\text{eff}}$ for different miscut angles, $\mathrm{\delta }{\mathrm{\theta }}_{\mathit{yz}}=0.001°$ , $0.01°$ , $0.1°$ , and $1°$ . The inset shows an illustration of the OOP-to-IP transition. The top panel shows the transition between up ( $m_z=1$ ) and right states ( $m_y=1$ ), while the bottom panel shows the transition between down ( $m_z=-1$ ) and left states ( $m_y=-1$).