Abstract
The direction of the magnetization of each Fe layer in an Fe/Cr multilayer with uniaxial anisotropy was determined with polarized neutron reflectometry. The vectors of the layer magnetization of the multilayer transit from an antiferromagnetic alignment into a nearly ferromagnetic one with increasing magnetic field. In the transition region the system consists of an antiferromagnetically aligned part and a ferromagnetically aligned part. The magnetization curve is characterized by the subsequent switching of the antiferromagnetically aligned bilayers into the nearly ferromagnetically aligned state. Via this mechanism the antiferromagnetic part of the multilayer reduces in favor of the ferromagnetically aligned part with increasing magnetic field.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 59-62 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Physica B: Physics of Condensed Matter |
Volume | 335 |
Issue number | 1-4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2003 |
Externally published | Yes |
Event | Proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on PNCMI 2002 - Julich, Germany Duration: Sep 16 2002 → Sep 19 2002 |
Funding
Support from BMBF (Grant No 03DUOTU1/4), RFBR (Grant No 01-02-17119) and NATO (Grant No PST.CLG.976169) is acknowledged. The experiment was supported by the EC.
Keywords
- Antiferromagnetic coupling
- Layer magnetization
- Polarized neutron reflectometry