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Magnetic Phase Transitions in Epitaxial Fe/Cr Superlattices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

Eric E. Fullerton
Affiliation:
Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
K. T. Riggs
Affiliation:
Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
C. H. Sowers
Affiliation:
Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
A. Berger
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Institute of Surface and Interface Science, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA 92717
S. D. Bader
Affiliation:
Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
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Abstract

The surface spin-flop and Néel transitions are examined in Fe/Cr superlattices. The surface spin-flop, originally predicted by Mills [Phys. Rev. Lett. 20, 18 (1968)], is observed in Fe/Cr(211) superlattices with antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling and uniaxial in-plane anisotropy. The Néel transition (TN) of Cr is observed in Fe/Cr(001) superlattices, for which the onset of antiferromagnetism is at a thickness tCr of 42Å. The bulk value of TN is approached asymptotically as tCr increases and is characterized by a three-dimensional shift exponent. These TN results are attributed to finite-size effects and spin-frustration near rough Fe-Cr interfaces.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

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References

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