Abstract
We review the magnetic and structural properties of Fe in polycrystalline and epitaxial (Fe t /Pd 4 nm ) 32 multilayers (MLs). The Fe layer thickness is varied from 1 to 4 nm, while all other parameters are kept constant. Structural investigations utilizing RHEED and XRD show that thin Fe layers ( t Fe < 2.5 nm) exhibit an fcc-like phase with a high magnetic moment of 2.7 w B > per iron atom. For Fe layers with thicknesses of t Fe > 2.5 nm the magnetic moment of Fe is 2.2 &\\mu; B , which is in agreement with the value of bulk bcc Fe. This magnetic transition is observed in both, polycrystalline and epitaxial MLs. From RHEED investigations on epitaxial MLs we find that with increasing thickness of the Fe layer the unit cell of Fe is successively compressed in growth direction while its basal plane remains unaltered. With thin Fe-layers MLs and high magnetic moments have an atomic volume that is comparable to the volume of the high moment phase in fcc Fe. The atomic volume with thick Fe-layers MLs is close to the equilibrium value of bcc Fe. The mutual interplay of tetragonal distortion, atomic volume and morphology and its influence on the magnetic properties of the MLs are discussed.
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