Abstract
Magnetic and microstructural properties of 111 textured Cu/N×[Co/Ni] films are studied as a function of the number of bilayer repeats N and annealing temperature. M(H) loop measurements show that coercivity, Hc, increases with annealing temperature and that the slope of the saturation curve at Hc has a larger reduction for smaller N. An increase of the magnetic anisotropy (Ku) to saturation magnetization (Ms) ratio after annealing N×[Co/Ni] with N < 15 only partially describes the increase to Hc. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses performed in scanning transmission electron microscopy mode across cross-sections of as-deposited and annealed Cu/16×[Co/Ni] films show that Cu diffuses from the seed layer into grain boundaries of Co/Ni. Diffusion of Cu reduces exchange coupling (Hex) between the magnetic grains and explains the increase in Hc. Additionally, the difference in the slope of the M(H) curves at Hc between the thick (N = 16) and thin (N = 4) magnetic multilayers is due to Cu diffusion more effectively decoupling magnetic grains in the thinner multilayer.
Highlights
There is a large interest in magnetic multilayers for fundamental studies and applications
This is achieved by depositing magnetic multilayers on top of single-crystal substrates or seed layers with a pre-set crystallographic orientation
The latter method is utilized for fabrication of textured magnetic layers in devices such as spin transfer torque random access memory (STT RAM), hard drives and magnetic sensors
Summary
There is a large interest in magnetic multilayers for fundamental studies and applications. To obtain desired magnetic properties, magnetic multilayers are often grown along a preferential orientation This is achieved by depositing magnetic multilayers on top of single-crystal substrates or seed layers with a pre-set crystallographic orientation. The latter method is utilized for fabrication of textured magnetic layers in devices such as spin transfer torque random access memory (STT RAM), hard drives and magnetic sensors. In nanostructures consisting of magnetic multilayers, the seed layers serve as a bottom contact. In this case the seed layers are desired to have low resistance
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