Effect of interface structure modifications on the properties of some magnetic multilayers

Abstract

The effect of post-deposition thermal annealing on the interface structures of crystalline Fe–Tb multilayers and the associated changes in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) has been studied using X-ray reflectivity, X-ray diffuse scattering and conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy. The main effect of annealing is a demixing at the interfaces attributed to a positive heat of mixing between Fe and Tb. Demixing is accompanied by a decrease in PMA due to increased shape anisotropy of the crystalline Fe layer. The results are compared with the effect of heavy ion irradiation in the same system.