Anomalous temperature dependence of interlayer coupling in Fe/Si multilayers (abstract)
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80303 (United States)
- University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211 (United States)
The magnetic coupling of the Fe layers in Fe/Si multilayers strongly depends on the morphology of the iron-silicide interlayer that forms during deposition. Antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling is only observed in Fe/Si multilayers with crystalline interlayers in the CsCl structure. Recently, it has been shown that single layers of Fe{endash}Si in the CsCl structure can be grown epitaxially on Si over a range of stoichiometries. FeSi films are reported to be Kondo insulators below 50 K. We find evidence of a magnetic phase transition in antiferromagnetically coupled Fe/Si multilayers. {ital M}{sub {ital s}} measured in a constant applied field of 50 kOe shows {ital T}{sup 3/2} behavior down to 10 K. However, {ital M}({ital T}) at a lower constant field peaks around 50 K and decreases at lower temperature, indicating enhanced antiferromagnetic coupling or a phase transition. The remanent magnetization increases monotonically with decreasing temperature and has been explained by invoking thermally activated coupling. However, the saturation field also increases with decreasing temperature, indicating a stronger antiferromagnetic interaction. We explore the suggestion that the interlayer coupling is biquadratic in nature. Polarized neutron reflectometry has also been used to get a clearer picture of the complicated magnetic behavior of this multilayer system. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 280011
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-951101-; ISSN 0021-8979; TRN: 9608M0062
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 79, Issue 8; Conference: 40. conference on magnetism and magnetic materials, Philadelphia, PA (United States), 6-9 Nov 1995; Other Information: PBD: Apr 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Interlayer coupling in Fe/Cr/Gd multilayer structures
Antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling in sputtered Fe/Cr multilayers: Dependence on number of Fe layers