ANISOTROPY AND MAGNETO-OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF SPUTTERED Co/Ni MULTILAYER THIN FILMS

Authors

Y.B. Zhang, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
John A. Woollam, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Z.S. Shan, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
J.X. Shen, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
David J. Sellmyer, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

November 1994

Comments

Published by IEEE; IEEE Trans. Magn. 30, 4440 (1994). ©1994 IEEE. Permission to use. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/

Abstract

Several series of sputtered Co/Ni multilayer thin films have been investigated. The volume and interface contributions to the magnetic anisotropy were determined from magnetization measurements, and the interface anisotropy, K_i= 0.23 ± 0.03 erg/cm², was found to support perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The anisotropy constant, K, increased with the Au buffer layer thickness, indicating the buffer layer was crucial to the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The polar Kerr rotation and coercivity as a function of temperature, and room temperature magneto-optical figure of merit are presented in this paper.