INTERLAYER COUPLING AND ITS DEPENDENCE ON GROWTH AND STRUCTURE

Interlayer exchange is of interest for magnetic storage media and for magnetic field sensors. In order to get a clearer picture on its microscopic origin we have investigated Fe/X/Fe structures with X= Cr, Au, Al and examined the dependence of the coupling on the growth and structure of the samples. These were grown by means of thermal evaporation and characterized in situ by means of RHEED. Under optimum conditions we find for the coupling across Cr and Au, oscillations as a function of the interlayer thickness with a long and a short period. For Al interlayers only long periods can be clearly resolved. Apart from the oscillations between ferro- and antiferromagnetic type coupling we find also contributions of 90° type coupling which align the moments of the magnetic films perpendicular to each other. The temperature dependence of the coupling across Cr- and Au interlayers has also been investigated.