Magnetism of thin epitaxial Cr films in sandwich structures and superlattices

Abstract

The spin density wave (SDW) magnetism of thin epitaxial Cr films has recently become the focus of interest because of its mediating role in exchange coupled superlattices. While the incommensurate SDW and the Néel temperature, , are well established for bulk Cr, the question arises of how these properties are altered in thin films and superlattices with ferromagnetic boundary layers. We review here recent synchrotron and neutron scattering experiments to probe the commensurate and incommensurate SDWs in epitaxial Cr(100) layers and the phase diagrams which result from these measurements as a function of film thickness and temperature. Finally, we link the antiferromagnetic spin structure of Cr to the Fe layer magnetization vectors in exchange coupled superlattices, which provides a deeper insight for the cause of non-collinear magnetic ordering in these artificial superlattices.