Charge and induced magnetic structures of Au layers in Fe/Au bilayer and Fe/Au/Fe trilayer films by resonant X-ray magnetic reflectivity at the Au L3 absorption edge

It is known that spin polarization induced in the Au layers of Fe/Au multilayers which show interlayer exchange coupling consists of an interface-concentrated component and a uniformly extended interior component. To investigate the origin of the interior component, magnetic depth profiles of spin polarization induced in the Au layers of Fe (15 Å)/Au (50 Å) bilayer and Fe (15 Å)/Au (50 Å)/Fe (15 Å) trilayer films were investigated with resonant X-ray magnetic reflectivity (RXMR) measurements at the Au L3 absorption edge. After the determination of charge structures, the spin attenuation length for the interior component of the bilayer sample was evaluated to be longer than 15 Å from the analysis of the RXMR pattern. The RXMR pattern of the trilayer sample was not sufficiently reproduced if the magnetic structure of the trilayer sample was assumed to be a simple sum of the magnetic structure obtained from the bilayer sample. Results were discussed based on the quantum well model. (author)