Title :
Saturation magnetization of ultra-thin Fe and Ni layers in (Fe,Ni)/Cu multilayers
Author :
Nakatani, Ryoichi ; Sakuma, Akimasa ; Sugita, Yutaka
Author_Institution :
Central Res. Lab., Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
fDate :
9/1/1999 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We have experimentally and theoretically investigated saturation magnetizations of Fe layers and Ni layers with thicknesses of 0.2-2.0 nm in Fe/Cu and Ni/Cu multilayers. The saturation magnetizations 4πMS of the Fe layers at room temperature and at liquid-He temperature are 21 kG at the thicknesses above 1.4 nm, and decrease with decreasing thickness below 1.4 nm. The 4πMS of the Fe layers at liquid-He temperature and at room temperature are 8 kG and 3 kG, respectively, when the thickness of the Fe layers is 0.2 nm (1 ML). The 4πMS of the Ni layers at room temperature and at liquid-He temperature are 5-6 kG at the thickness of 2.0 nm, also decrease with decreasing thickness below 1.6 nm, and become 0 kG at 0.2 nm (1 ML). The observation of the cross-section of the Fe/Cu multilayers indicates that the Fe layers are continuous and flat, even though the thickness of the Fe layers is ultra-thin (0.4 nm). Magnetic moments of the Fe and the Ni layers have been calculated based on the linear muffin-tin orbital method, and are significantly higher than the measured values
Keywords :
copper; iron; linear muffin-tin orbital method; magnetic moments; magnetic multilayers; magnetic thin films; magnetisation; metallic thin films; nickel; 0.2 to 2.0 nm; 300 K; 4.2 K; Fe-Cu; Fe/Cu multilayers; Ni-Cu; Ni/Cu multilayers; layer thickness dependence; linear muffin-tin orbital method; magnetic moments; saturation magnetization; ultra-thin layers; Buffer layers; Extraterrestrial measurements; Helium; Iron; Magnetic films; Magnetic moments; Magnetic multilayers; SQUID magnetometers; Saturation magnetization; Temperature;
Journal_Title :
Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on