Strong anti-ferromagnetic coupling in τMnAl/Co perpendicular magnetic superlattices on GaAs

Author

Bruynseraede, C. ; Lauhoff, G. ; Bland, J.A.C. ; Strijkers, G. ; De Boeck, J. ; Borghs, G.

Author_Institution

IMEC, Leuven, Belgium

Volume

34

Issue

4

fYear

1998

fDate

7/1/1998 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

861

Lastpage

863

Abstract

This paper reports on the structural and magnetic properties of τMnAl/Co superlattices epitaxially grown on AlAs/GaAs by Molecular Beam Epitaxy. In τMnAl/Co superlattices with Co layer thickness <8 Å, a strong antiferromagnetic coupling between the ferromagnetic τMnAl and Co layers is found, as well as the presence of a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in both constituent layers, resulting in an unusually abrupt spin reversal at high fields. When increasing the Co layer thickness, the shape anisotropy in the Co layers dominates this AF coupling and the constituent layers display different magnetization directions: perpendicular (τMnAl) and parallel (Co) to the growth plane

Keywords

aluminium alloys; cobalt; ferromagnetic materials; magnetic epitaxial layers; magnetic multilayers; manganese alloys; metallic superlattices; perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; Co layer thickness; GaAs; MnAl-Co; abrupt spin reversal; magnetization direction; perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; perpendicular magnetic superlattices; strong antiferromagnetic coupling; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Antiferromagnetic materials; Couplings; Displays; Gallium arsenide; Magnetic properties; Magnetic superlattices; Molecular beam epitaxial growth; Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; Shape;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.706292

Filename

706292