Magnetic anisotropy studies on pulsed electrodeposited Ni/Ag/Ni trilayer

Highlights: • Ni/Ag/Ni layered film has been prepared using pulsed electrodeposition method. • Crystalline nature of layered films is confirmed using XRD. • Magnetic easy axis is observed to be parallel to the plane of the film. • Magnetic anisotropy change is dependent on number of layers. • Ni/Ag/Ni layered film shows higher anisotropy energy than pure Ni film. - Abstract: The pulsed electrodeposition method was employed for the deposition of pure Ni, Ni/Ag and Ni/Ag/Ni films due to its greater advantages while comparing with other methods. The X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the formation of fcc structure for both nickel and silver. The cross sectional scanning electron microscopy shows the layer formation in Ni/Ag and Ni/Ag/Ni films. The metallic nature of the nickel and silver were also confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The magnetic anisotropy behaviour was studied using vibrating sample magnetometer which gives that the easy axis is in plan of the film for all the film