Structure and magnetic exchange coupling of iron based trilayers

A study of the structural and magnetic properties of Fe based magnetic trilayers is presented. Sample preparation conditions were altered to achieve the best growth conditions and their effect on the magnetic properties determined. Structural information was obtained from RHEED, AES, STM and MEIS; this is believed to be the first time that MEIS has been used to look at this sort of sample. Magnetic characterisation was determined by MOKE with particular interest paid to the biquadratic coupling. The determination of magnetic coupling as a function of sample morphology was studied oil a series of Fe/Cr/Fe samples. Fe/Au/Fe samples oil MgO substrates were also prepared to facilitate MEIS studies. Results indicate that tile fluctuation model best describes tile observed biquadratic coupling in Fe/Cr/Fe trilayers and that the presence of clean, sharp interfaces is required. Annealing and growth at elevated temperature cause interdiffusion at the interfaces, weakening the biquadratic coupling. MEIS structural data from MgO/Fe/Au/Fe samples shows that tile layer structure is dependent oil thickness. There is an apparent reorganisation of tile Au interlayer between a 'bcc'-Iike phase towards tile bulk fcc phase as the layer thickness increases. MEIS is shown to be a very sensitive probe of the crystalline quality and is a powerful probe for the determination of postdeposition sample morphology. Results from an EC collaboration investigating Co/Cr/Co trilayers are also presented. They showed that interlayer coupling and anisotropy of the samples were very sensitive to the preparation conditions. A decrease in the coupling strength is found for sample growth under non-ideal conditions (growth in an applied field, growth at an angle and delays between layer growth). (author)