Phys. Rev. B 54, 3385-3393 (1996)

                                                                                  [Issue 5 - August 1996 ]

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Brillouin light scattering study of Fe/Cr/Fe (211) and (100) trilayers

       M. Grimsditch, S. Kumar, and Eric E. Fullerton 
       Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439

Received 15 January 1996

The magnitude of the bilinear and biquadratic interlayer coupling strengths between Fe layers separated by Cr spacer layers is investigated by means of Brillouin light scattering, magneto-optic Kerr rotation, and
magnetoresistance techniques. A data analysis scheme, which treats all three data sets on an equal footing, yields self-consistent anisotropy and interlayer coupling parameters extracted independently from the three
techniques. The values of the bilinear and biquadratic coupling strengths are compared for simultaneously grown (211) and (100) Fe/Cr samples. The approach not only provides reliable values for the coupling strengths but
also highlights the complementarity of these techniques in uniquely determining the magnetic parameters. 

©1996 The American Physical Society

URL: http://publish.aps.org/abstract/PRB/v54/p3385
PACS: 75.30.Ds, 75.70.Cn