The Features of the Structural and Magnetic Characteristics of Low-Dimensional Thin-Film Systems Based on Cobalt and Copper

Atomic separation in Co/Cu/Co magnetic structures study by hybrid X-ray reflectivity – X-ray standing wave approach

“…The widths of interfaces at the Co/Ta boundaries are similar for all samples and have thicknesses ranging between 1 and 1.2 nm for the lower interface and from 1.9 to 2.1 nm for the upper one. The presence of such transition regions is consistent with the results obtained by the X-ray diffraction study of similar samples [4], in which Shalygina et al found an increase in the cobalt lattice parameters in that structures caused by the diffusion of tantalum.…”

“…The oscillating dependence of the saturation field on the thickness of the copper layer obtained earlier for these samples [4] can be caused by the Néel interaction between islands in the three-dimensional structure of cobalt (the so-called the "orange peel" effect) [29] arising from the correlation of roughness at the interfaces of the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic layers. The magnetism of the exchange interaction is isotropic, while conversely the "orange peel" effect is anisotropic [30], which makes it possible to separate the contributions to the magnetism of the layered Co / Cu structure of the exchange and Néel interactions by considering the angular dependence of the magnetization.…”

“…Some growth modes can stimulate the formation of cobalt clusters that determine the paramagnetic and superparamagnetic phases in Co-Cu alloys [3]. Earlier, Shalygina et al [4] studied the influence of various copper layer thicknesses, ranging from 0.5 to 4 nm, on the structural and magnetic characteristics of magnetron-sputtered Co/Cu/Co structures made up of 5 nm thick Co layers. The authors demonstrated the oscillating dependence of magnetic properties on the thickness of the Cu layer.…”