Formation of noncollinear spin configurations during magnetization reversal in multilayered Fe/Si films

Magnetization reversal processes in Fe/Si multilayered films have been studied by means of the longitudinal magneto-optical Kerr effect at room temperature. The multilayers have been grown by DC sputtering on the single-crystal GaAs substrate. The Kerr effect curves had areas with an invariable or slightly varying rotation and had different remanent rotation value in the zero magnetic field for different directions of the magnetic field in the film plane. The observed features are related to the formation of stable and metastable noncollinear spin configurations. The experimental results are explained in the framework of the theory, which takes into account the competition between the bilinear exchange term on the one hand and the biquadratic exchange or cubic magnetic anisotropy terms on the other hand