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Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 2562–2565 (1998)

[Issue 12 – 21 September 1998 ]

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Structural and Magnetic Ordering of Chromium in Ag/Cr Multilayers

S. Demuynck, J. Meersschaut, J. Dekoster, B. Swinnen, R. Moons, A. Vantomme, S. Cottenier, and M. Rots

Instituut voor Kern en Stralingsfysica, K. U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium

We studied the influence of the lattice structure on the chromium magnetism in Ag/Cr multilayers by combining structural characterization techniques and perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy. Chromium in Ag/Cr multilayers orders as an incommensurate longitudinal spin-density wave (SDW) with the spins oriented out of plane. A size effect induces the instability of the SDW below a critical chromium thickness. The absence of the spin-flip transition, the position of the Néel temperature, and the actual character of the SDW are attributed to the specific structural properties.

©1998 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v81/p2562
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.2562
PACS: 75.30.Fv, 75.25.+z, 75.70.Cn, 76.80.+y

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