Abstract
We investigated the magnetic properties of thin Cr(110) layers in a (110)-oriented Fe/Cr multilayer consisting of 26-nm-thick Cr layers and 1.2-nm-thick Fe layers that were grown epitaxially on a V( 110) single crystal. Neutron-diffraction data reveal that the commensurate spin-density wave of the Cr layers is stable up to a temperature of 520 K. In the temperature range from 225 K to 175 K we observe a phase transition to the incommensurate spin-density wave. Measurements on the Cr{111} reflections show that the Fe/Cr multilayer is in a multidomain state with the Cr polarization being parallel to [100], [010], or [001]. The domains do not have equal probability. They are observed with a probability of 41%, 41%, and 18%, respectively. That means that there is a probability of 90% for the Cr polarization being perpendicular to the Fe magnetization that has its easy axis along [001].
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