The Effects of Layer Thickness on the Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of Evaporated Co/Ag Films

Abstract

Co/Ag multilayers with various Co and Ag layer thicknesses were prepared by alternate vapor deposition of pure Co and Ag. The effect of constituent metal layer thickness on the microstructure and magnetic properties of the films was investigated by transmission electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering, X‐ray diffraction, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The experimental results show that Co layers grow in an fcc structure with the proper relative thickness of constituent metals. The saturation magnetization and coercive force of the multilayers change significantly with layer thickness of Co and Ag. The mechanisms responsible for the phenomena are discussed.

Cobalt nanoclusters on metal-supported Xe monolayers: Influence of the substrate on cluster formation kinetics and magnetism

“…37 Co-Ag intermixing could lead to the formation of a magnetically dead layer at the interface between clusters and Ag͑111͒ with consequent reduction in the Co magnetic moment. This has been observed, for example, for Co/Ag multilayers, 38 where the Co moment of a 1-nm-thick Co layer was found to be quite small ͑about 1 B / atom͒. Furthermore, according to calculations in Ref.…”

Formation of metastable phases and their effect on the magnetic properties of Co-Cu multilayers

“…4 thicker Cu layer. These resemble the metastable phase growths observed in our previous work for Co-Ag multilayers [28], and they even have the same formation range of metastable Co, though that in the Co-Cu system is expected to be larger than Co-Ag since the former has a little larger miscibility [29] and a smaller atomic-size difference. More extensive interlayer diffusion in the Co-Ag multilayers may cause the broader formation range of metastable fcc Co as high as 30 2.…”

“…the magnetic moment begins to decrease, and then increases, and decreases at last. Interestingly, the moment changes with t Co in a very similar way as in the Co-Ag multilayers [28]. In the Co-Ag systems, we ascribed this behavior to the larger moment possessed for fcc Co than hcp Co.…”