Magnetic properties of fcc iron in Fe/fcc metal multilayers

Abstract Vapor-deposition technique was employed to grow the fcc iron in the Fe/Cu, Fe/Pd and Fe/Pt multilayers. The thickness, periodicity, chemical composition, microstructure, and magnetic properties of the films were characterized and measured by various methods. The experimental results indicated that, when the Fe layers were thinner than 2–3 nm, the Fe atoms could grow in the fcc structure on the polycrystalline fcc non-magnetic metal layers with a fixed thickness of 6.5–7.5 nm. The fcc Fe in the Fl/fcc metal multilayers exhibited ferromagnetic behavior, and its magnetic moment can be as high as 3.4 μ B for Fe(1.2 nm)/Cu(7.5 nm), 3.2μ B for Fe(1.6 nm)/Pd(6.5 nm), and 2.1 μ B for Fe(2.3 nm)/Pt(7.0 nm), respectively. The modification of magnetic properties of fcc Fe was attributed to a significant change in the distance among Fe atoms in the fcc lattice, resulting in a considerable changing in electron-couple, compared with that in the normal Fe-bcc structure.