Spin density waves of thin Cr layers in Fe/Cr(110) multilayers

Complete text of publication follows. The itinerant antiferromagnetism of Cr has been the subject of intensive studies since many years. In the beginning polycrystalline bulk samples were studied, whereas nowadays the spin density waves (SDW) in thin Cr films or Fe/Cr-multilayers are in the focus of interest. The main topics are the influence of temperature, Cr film thickness and substrate on the magnetic properties of thin Cr-layers. Neutron diffraction measurements on a (110) orientated (1.2 nm Fe / 26 nm Cr)15-multilayer are presented which were performed at the diffractometers E1 and E4 of te Hahn-Meitner-Institut. The layers were prepared on a V(110) single crystal by molecular beam epitaxy. In contrast to bulk-Cr with a Neel temperature of 311 K the 26 nm thin Cr layers show antiferromagnetic order (the commensurate antiferromagnetic AF0 structure) up to a temperature of 550 K. This can be concluded from the observation of the (001), (010) and (100) reflections which are structurally forbidden and therefore of pure magnetic origin. In the temperature range between 250 K and 175 K a phase transition from the commensurate to the incommensurate SDW has been observed. (author)