Short-period oscillations in the interlayer magnetic coupling of wedged Fe(100)/Mo(100)/Fe(100) grown on Mo(100) by molecular-beam epitaxy

Abstract

(100)-oriented Fe/Mo/Fe sandwiches were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy onto a Mo(100) crystal and were investigated in situ by means of the magneto-optic Kerr effect. The Fe layers are each 14 monolayers (ML) thick, and the intervening Mo is wedge shaped to facilitate the study of the magnetic coupling between the two Fe films as a function of Mo thickness in the range 1–18 ML. Five oscillations between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic coupling were observed with a periodicity of ∼3 ML of Mo.