Scanning probe microscopy study of the interface roughness dependence of the magnetism of metallic multilayers

In magnetic metallic multilayers and thin films the roughness at the interface of the non-magnetic and the magnetic layers is an important factor to determine their magnetic properties. In this work we present a combined study of reflection high-energy electron diffraction RHEED.and scanning tunneling microscope STM.observations of epitaxially grown FerCu 001.multilayers. For a Fe layer thickness of about six monolayers in a 20-period multilayer a strong dependence of the magnetization on the surface roughness was found. A rough surface leads to a higher saturation magnetization. q1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.