  Motivated in part by experiments performed by M.H. Pan et al. (nanoletters,
v.5, p 83, 2005), we have undertaken a theoretical study of the the magnetic
properties of two-monolayer thick Co nanoplatelets with an equilateral
triangular shape. The analysis is carried out using a microscopic Slater-Koster
tight-binding model with atomic exchange and spin-orbit interactions designed
to realistically capture the salient magnetic features of large nanoclusters
containing up to 350 atoms. Two different truncations of the FCC lattice are
studied, in which the nanoplatelet surface is aligned parallel to the FCC (111)
and (001)crystal planes respectively. We find that the higher coordination
number in the (111) truncated crystal is more likely to reproduce the
perpendicular easy direction found in experiment. Qualitatively, the most
important parameter governing the anisotropy of the model is found to be the
value of the intra-atomic exchange integral J. If we set the value of J near
the bulk value in order to reproduce the experimentally observed magnitude of
the magnetic moments, we find both quasi-easy-planes and perpendicular easy
directions. At larger values of J we find that the easy-axis of magnetization
is perpendicular to the surface, and the value of the magnetic anisotropy
energy per atom is larger. The possible role of hybridization with substrate
surface states in the experimental systems is discussed.
