Orientational and structural dependence of magnetic anisotropy of Cu/Ni/Cu sandwiches: Misfit interface anisotropy

Abstract

Magnetic anisotropies and misfit strain relaxations have been investigated in Cu/Ni‐wedge/Cu (100) and (111) sandwiches deposited by molecular beam epitaxy on single‐crystal Cu substrates. Our results reveal a clear distinction in the nature of the measured anisotropy at Ni thicknesses below and above the critical value t c , where the growth becomes incoherent. Below t c , coherent lattice strain modifies only the volume anisotropy, while interfaceanisotropy is Néel type; above t c , magnetoelasticeffects are found to contribute to the interfaceanisotropy.