Effect of Cr Spacer on Structural and Magnetic Properties of Fe/Gd Multilayers
- Kapitza Institute for Physical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences (Russian Federation)
- Mikheev Institute of Metal Physics, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Russian Federation)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstraße 1 (Germany)
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory (United States)
In this work, we analyze the role of a thin Cr spacer between Fe and Gd layers on the structure and magnetic properties of a [Fe(35 Å)/Cr(t{sub Cr})/Gd(50 Å)/Cr(t{sub Cr})]{sub 12} superlattice. Samples without the Cr spacer (t{sub Cr} = 0) and with a thin spacer (t{sub Cr} = 4 Å) are investigated using X-ray diffraction, polarized neutron and resonance X-ray magnetic reflectometry, static magnetometry, magneto-optical Kerr effect, and ferromagnetic resonance techniques. Magnetic properties are studied experimentally in a wide temperature range 4–300 K and analyzed theoretically using numerical simulation on the basis of the mean-field model. We show that a reasonable agreement with the experimental data can be obtained considering temperature dependence of the effective field parameter in gadolinium layers. The analysis of the experimental data shows that besides a strong reduction of the antiferromagnetic coupling between Fe and Gd, the introduction of Cr spacers into Fe/Gd superlattice leads to modification of both structural and magnetic characteristics of the ferromagnetic layers.
- OSTI ID:
- 22917870
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 127; ISSN JTPHES; ISSN 1063-7761
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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