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Moessbauer spectroscopy, interlayer coupling and magnetoresistance of irradiated Fe/Cr multilayers

Feliks Stobiecki 1Michal Kopcewicz Jacek Jagielski 3Bogdan Szymański 1Marek Schmidt 1Janusz Dubowik 1Maciej Urbaniak 1Justyna Kalinowska 2

1. Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Molecular Physics, Mariana Smoluchowskiego 17, Poznań 60-179, Poland
2. Institute of Electronic Materials Technology (ITME), Wólczyńska 133, Warszawa 01-919, Poland
3. Andrzej Sołtan Institute for Nuclear Studies (IPJ), Świerk, Otwock-Świerk 05-400, Poland

Abstract

The influence of 200 keV Ar-ion irradiation on the interlayer coupling in Fe/Cr multilayers exhibiting the giant magnetoresistance effect (GMR) is studied by the conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS), magnetic hysteresis loops, magnetoresistivity and electric resistivity measurements and supplemented by the small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXRD).
An increase of interface roughness of Fe/Cr multilayers caused by irradiation with 200 keV Ar ions and doses exceeding 5x1012 Ar/cm2 is clearly seen in CEMS measurements, while, the SAXRD technique, even at higher ion doses, hardly detects such changes in microstructure. On the other hand, a subtle modification of the microstructure induces distinct changes in magnetization reversal (increase of the remanence magnetization) and strongly decreases GMR effect with increasing irradiation dose. The most prominent changes are observed for the samples with a small thickness of Cr layers.
The increasing immunity of GMR effect to ion irradiation with increasing thickness of Cr layers as well as correlation between changes in GMR and antiferromagneticaly coupled fraction suggest that the main effect responsible for the decrease of GMR is caused by the pinholes creation. Characteristic changes in the temperature dependence of the remanence magnetization measured for the as-deposited and irradiated samples results from an increase of pinholes density and their sizes during irradiation process.
This project was financially supported by Polish Committee for Scientific Research (KBN), grant number: PBZ/KBN-013/T08/23

 

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Related papers

Presentation: poster at E-MRS Fall Meeting 2003, Symposium B, by Feliks Stobiecki
See On-line Journal of E-MRS Fall Meeting 2003

Submitted: 2003-06-09 10:58
Revised:   2009-06-08 12:55