Magnetic properties and interlayer coupling of epitaxial Co/Cu films on Si

Thin films of Co and Co/Cu/Co trilayers with wedged Cu interlayers were grown epitaxially on Cu buffer layers on hydrogen passivated Si(001) wafers. We find that single Co layers have a well-defined four-fold anisotropy but with smaller in-plane anisotropies than observed in Co grown on Cu crystals. Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida (RKKY) interlayer coupling is observed in one Co/Cu/Co sample which is the smoothest of the films as measured by atomic force microscopy. Some of the films also form a dot-like structure on the surface. Intermixing at elevated temperatures between the Cu buffer and Si limits the ability to form flat surfaces to promote RKKY coupling