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Journal of Applied Physics -- April 15, 1999 -- Volume 85, Issue 8 pp. 5039-5041

Mössbauer study of the influence of thermal treatment on giant magnetoresistance and interface structure in Fe/Cr multilayers

M. Kopcewicz

Institute of Electronic Materials Technology, Wólczyska 133, 01-919 Warszawa, Poland

T. Luciski and F. Stobiecki

Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Pozna, Poland

G. Reiss

University of Bielefeld, Faculty of Physics, Universitätstrasse 25, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany

The dependence of the giant magnetoresistance effect (GMR) on the interface structure in Fe/Cr multilayers was studied by magnetoresistivity and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The Fe/Cr multilayers consisting of Fe(6 nm) + [Cr(1.1 nm)/Fe(3 nm)]₆₀ + Cr(1.1 nm) were deposited by dc magnetron sputtering. Samples were annealed for 1 h at temperatures ranging from 200 to 500 °C. The interface structure was characterized by conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS). Various different Fe sites: the bulk, step and perfect interface positions were identified. The evolution of the fraction of Fe atoms in different environments vs annealing temperature revealed that annealing at 300 °C induces bulk and in-plane diffusion of atoms. Higher annealing temperature causes substantial roughening of the interface related to a strong bulk diffusion of atoms. Microstructural changes observed in the CEMS spectra correspond well to the GMR measurements which reveal an enhancement of magnetoresistivity in Fe/Cr multilayers annealed at about 300 °C and its decrease due to deterioration of the interface at higher annealing temperatures. ©1999 American Institute of Physics.

PII: S0021-8979(99)19608-7
DOI: 10.1063/1.370084
PACS: 75.70.Cn, 75.70.Pa, 68.35.Ct, 76.80.+y, 81.15.Cd, 81.40.Rs        Additional Information

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Citing Articles

1. Fe /Cr interface magnetism: Correlation between hyperfine fields and magnetic moments
   V. M. Uzdin et al., Phys. Rev. B 63, 104407 (2001)
2. Interface contribution to giant magnetoresistance in granular AgFe studied with Mössbauer spectroscopy
   C. Alof et al., J. Appl. Phys. 88, 4212 (2000)

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Published by the American Institute of Physics Copyright © American Institute of Physics