ISSN:
1089-7550
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
The magnitude and the direction of the oscillatory exchange coupling in multilayer structures depend sensitively on the atomic scale ordering of the layers. Disorder in the form of substrate roughness, interlayer thickness fluctuations, or interfacial interdiffusion can result in reduced bilinear exchange coupling, the disappearance of short period coupling oscillations, and the increase or decrease of the relative strength of the biquadratic coupling. We have investigated the effect of roughness by growing nearly perfect multilayer Fe/Cr and Fe/Au structures on single crystal Fe whisker substrates. The disorder in these structures was measured using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), while the coupling directions and magnitudes were measured using scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis and magneto-optic Kerr microscopy. For the nearly perfect trilayer structures, the periodicity and the magnitude of the oscillatory coupling are in agreement with theoretical predictions based on spacer layer Fermi surface properties. For rougher multilayer systems the exchange coupling can be modeled using structural information from STM and RHEED measurements.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.364762
