Effect of sputter gas on the physical and magnetic microstructure of Co/Cu multilayers

Donnet, D.M. and Tsutsumi, K. and Haan de, P. and Lodder, J.C. (1996) Effect of sputter gas on the physical and magnetic microstructure of Co/Cu multilayers. Journal of Applied Physics, 79 (8). pp. 6243-6245. ISSN 0021-8979

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Abstract:	The physical structure of Co/Cu multilayers, sputtered in different gases (Ar, Kr, and Xe) together with the domain structures that these films support have been investigated using electron microscopy in an attempt to explain the differences in their measured magnetoresistance (MR). Both planar and cross‐sectional analyses were undertaken. Due to only partial antiferromagnetic coupling submicron domain structures were observed by Lorentz microscopy in all multilayers. The complex nature of these domain structures made classification difficult, although small magnetic field application allowed wall motion and nucleation to be observed. All films were polycrystalline in nature, although average grains sizes differed. However, smoother interfaces together with less well defined crystal boundaries were observed in the Kr and Xe sputtered films. This trend did not correlate with giant MR (GMR) measurements as the Xe sputtered films had the lowest GMR value of the three.
Item Type:	Article
Copyright:	© 1996 American Institute of Physics
Faculty:	Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS)
Research Group:	Transducers Science and Technology (TST)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/publications/66086
Official URL:	http://link.aip.org/link/doi/10.1063/1.362018
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