Experimental study of the structural and magnetic properties of Fe/Tb multilayers

Abstract

Sputtered Fe/Tb multilayers of various Fe and Tb thicknesses ͑0.22рt Fe р3.3 nm, 0.2рt Tb р1.9 nm͒ have been investigated by x-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectrometry, and magnetic measurements in the 4.2-300 K temperature range. A compositionally modulated structure is shown with the appearance of pure amorphous iron in the center of the Fe layers thicker than 1.2 nm. When the Fe layers are thick enough ͑у2.2-2.4 nm͒, the Fe layers will crystallize. The magnetic properties ͑M ,T comp ,T c ,...͒ were analyzed in relation with Fe and Tb thicknesses and also with mean Tb composition. In agreement with the structure, the departure of magnetic properties from those of the corresponding amorphous alloys is observed when pure amorphous iron appears in the center of the layers. The dependence of the magnetic anisotropy axis on temperature and thicknesses is interpreted taking into account the composition modulation in the multilayers and the dominant magnetic subnetwork.

Depth resolved structural study of heavy ion induced phase formation in Si/Fe/Si trilayer

“…Absence of any hyperfine component around 33 T suggests that even in pristine sample no crystalline α-Fe is present. Earlier studies have shown that in thin films, below a thickness of about 30 Å the Fe layer remains amorphous [3,8], with a lower hyperfine field. In the present case the average hyperfine field of the broad magnetic component is 14.2 T, which suggests that there is substantial incorporation of Si throughout the film.…”

Creation and Observation of Domain Structures with a Special Kerr Microscope

“…TbFe multilayers with λ(= dTb + dFe ) <3 nm show a ferrimagnetic behavior and a perpendicular easy axis of magnetization similar to the amorphous TbFe alloy films [1][2][3]. Hence, these films are candidates for magneto-optical storage media.…”

Structural investigation of TbCo2/Fe magnetostrictive thin films by tomographic atom probe and Mössbauer spectrometry

“…So, for small thicknesses, the properties of the multilayers strongly depend on both the thickness of the layers and the interface roughness. This was evidenced for magnetic properties such as perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in Fe/Tb multilayers [3,4].…”