Magnetic properties of Ag/Ni multilayered films

Abstract

The magnetic properties of Ag/Ni multilayered films, prepared by the vacuum evaporation method, as a function of different thicknesses of Ni and Ag layers have been studied. It has been found that the magnetic moment of the Ni layer decreases greatly with increase of the thickness of the Ag layer. The temperature dependence of magnetization exhibits the features of Bloch’s T3/2 law with a large value of the Bloch coefficient, B3/2, which also depends on the thickness of the Ag layer when the thickness of the Ni layer is fixed at 30 Å. These phenomena can be explained by means of the itinerant electron theory. Furthermore, the magnetic size effect of Ag/Ni multilayered films, such as a reduced Curie temperature as a function of the thickness of the Ni layer tNi and a linear dependence of magnetization on temperature for T<175 K when tNi=10 Å, have been discussed.