Modification of structure, electric and magnetic properties of epitaxially grown Ag(001)/Fe(001) superlattices

Abstract The influence of ion irradiation and annealing on the structure, electrical and magnetic properties of Ag(001)[100]‖Fe(001)[110] superlattices are investigated. The changes of the structure are characterized by X-ray diffraction. The temperature and field dependencies of the resistivity are measured to find a link between the structure modification and magnetoresistance. Both treatments lead to a significant increase of the magnetoresistance.