First principles calculations of interlayer exchange coupling in bcc Fe/Cu/Fe structures

Abstract

We report on theoretical calculations of interlayer exchange coupling between two Fe layers separated by a modified Cu spacer. These calculations were motivated by experimental investigations of similar structures by the SFU group. The multilayer structures of interest have the general form: Fe/Cu(k)/Fe and Fe/Cu(m)/X(1)/Cu(n)/Fe where X indicates one AL (atomic layer) of foreign atoms X (Cr, Ag or Fe) and k, m, n represent the number of atomic layers of Cu. The purpose of the experimental and theoretical work was to determine the effect of modifying the pure Cu spacer by replacing the central Cu atomic layer with the atomic layer of foreign atoms X. The first principles calculation were performed using the Layer Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (LKKR) method. The theoretical thickness dependence of the exchange coupling between two semi-infinite Fe layers was calculated for pure Cu spacer thicknesses in the range of 0<k<16. The effect of the foreign atoms X on the exchange coupling was investigated using the structure with 9 AL Cu spacer as a reference sample. The calculated changes in the exchange coupling are in qualitative agreement with experiment.