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Journal of Applied Physics -- May 1, 2000 -- Volume 87, Issue 9, pp. 5750-5752

A neutron study of magnetic domain correlations in antiferromagnetically coupled multilayers

S. Langridge and J. Schmalian

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom

C. H. Marrows, D. T. Dekadjevi, and B. J. Hickey

Department of Physics and Astronomy, E. C. Stoner Laboratory, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom

The observed magnetotransport properties of magnetically coupled multilayers depends not only on the nature of the magnetic coupling but also the magnetic domain correlations and disorder. Neutron scattering gives access to the magnetic coupling through the specular reflectivity and the domain correlations through the diffuse scattering. Sputtered multilayers of Co/Cu and Co/Ru have been investigated as a function of the applied magnetic field. A simple domain model relates the observed scattering to the domain correlation length and the magnetic disorder. In both systems highly vertically correlated magnetic domains are observed with in-plane correlation lengths, at remanence, of 1.5 and 7 µm for the Cu and Ru systems, respectively. In both systems the Co domains order antiferromagnetically across the nonmagnetic spacer. The remanent vertically correlated state is recovered after saturating the sample. ©2000 American Institute of Physics.

PII: S0021-8979(00)45008-5
doi:10.1063/1.372510
PACS: 75.70.Cn, 75.50.Ee, 75.25.+z, 75.60.Ch, 75.70.Kw, 75.60.Ej, 75.70.Pa        Additional Information

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Citing Articles

1. Mapping domain disorder in exchange-biased magnetic multilayers
   C. H. Marrows et al., Phys. Rev. B 66, 024437 (2002)
2. Determination of equilibrium coupling angles in magnetic multilayers by polarized neutron reflectometry
   C. H. Marrows et al., Phys. Rev. B 62, 11340 (2000)

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