<p>The structural and magnetic properties of Fe/Co (001) and Fe/V (001) superlattices have been investigated. The thin film structures were deposited on MgO (001) substrates using a four source ultra-high-vacuum based sputtering equipment.</p><p>Reflection high energy electron diffraction showed that the body-centered cubic phase of Co could be stabilized up to a thickness of about eight atomic monolayers. X-ray diffraction measurements confirmed that the Fe/Co superlattices were single-crystalline with a pure body-centered cubic structure. The crystalline quality and the interface profile were found to be strongly dependent on the growth temperature. Furthermore, the Fe/Co superlattices were also found to exhibit novel magnetic properties. The first order magnetic anisotropy constant for the body-centered cubic Co phase was determined to be negative with a magnitude of 110 kJ/m<sup>3</sup>. Magnetization and Mössbauer measurements showed that the Fe and Co magnetic moments in the superlattices were enhanced. Spin polarized neutron reflectometry proved that all the magnetic moments were collinear.</p><p>The interlayer exchange coupling and the giant magnetoresistance effect in Fe/V superlattices were also studied. The strength of the coupling was found to be dependent on the thickness of the Fe and the V layers. This was also true for the giant magnetoresistance effect. Mössbauer measurements showed that the V-on-Fe interfaces (V deposited on Fe) were more abrupt and less diffuse than the Fe-on-V interfaces. Finally, the lattice parameters of a series of different Fe/V superlattices were determined by x-ray diffraction. The experimental lattice expansion was found to be in good agreement with a simple theoretical model.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA/oai:DiVA.org:uu-1470 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Blomqvist, Peter |
| Publisher | Uppsala University, Department of Physics, Uppsala : Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary, text |
| Relation | Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology, 1104-232X ; 661 |
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