Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
The magnetic properties of epitaxial magnetic metal multilaycrs, superlatticcs and ultrathin films are of intense current interest because of the novel and potentially useful properties which these structures exhibit. MBE techniques permit the growth and in-situ characterization of such structures and the control of the growth axis of films and multilayers through epitaxial seed layers on semiconductor substrates. Techniques for controlling the growth axis of Co/Cu superlattices, for magnetoresistance studies, are described. In this and other other material systems it is necessary to combine the in situ probes of RHEED, LEED and X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) with post-growth HRXTEM to understand and control the formation and nature of the interfaces in the structures.
This work was supported in part by ONR.