Structural and Magnetic Properties of Fe/Co (001) and Fe/V (001) Superlattices

Sammanfattning: The structural and magnetic properties of Fe/Co (001) and Fe/V (001) superlattices have been investigated. The thin film structures were deposited on MgO (001) substrates using a four source ultra-high-vacuum based sputtering equipment.Reflection high energy electron diffraction showed that the body-centered cubic phase of Co could be stabilized up to a thickness of about eight atomic monolayers. X-ray diffraction measurements confirmed that the Fe/Co superlattices were single-crystalline with a pure body-centered cubic structure. The crystalline quality and the interface profile were found to be strongly dependent on the growth temperature. Furthermore, the Fe/Co superlattices were also found to exhibit novel magnetic properties. The first order magnetic anisotropy constant for the body-centered cubic Co phase was determined to be negative with a magnitude of 110 kJ/m3. Magnetization and Mössbauer measurements showed that the Fe and Co magnetic moments in the superlattices were enhanced. Spin polarized neutron reflectometry proved that all the magnetic moments were collinear.The interlayer exchange coupling and the giant magnetoresistance effect in Fe/V superlattices were also studied. The strength of the coupling was found to be dependent on the thickness of the Fe and the V layers. This was also true for the giant magnetoresistance effect. Mössbauer measurements showed that the V-on-Fe interfaces (V deposited on Fe) were more abrupt and less diffuse than the Fe-on-V interfaces. Finally, the lattice parameters of a series of different Fe/V superlattices were determined by x-ray diffraction. The experimental lattice expansion was found to be in good agreement with a simple theoretical model.