The exchange coupling at the ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic （FM/AFM） interface is influenced by both the magnetic structure and the crystalline micro-structure. Co/FeMn/Co thin films with 0.4 nm Pt spacer layer inserted into the Co/FeMn and FeMn/Co interface respectively were deposited by means of magnetron sputtering. The two interfaces upon and beneath the FeMn layer show distinct behaviors before and after the Pt spacer inserted. There is a remarkable shrink of the interracial uncompensated spins within the FeMn bottom interracial monolayers, whereas a relaxation of the pinning strength of the FeMn interfacial spins along the out-of-plane direction occurs at the top in- terface. XRD analysis indicates the Pt layer upon the FeMn layer forms an fcc （002） texture, implying the magnetic discrepancy between the top and bottom FeMn interfaces has crystalline structural origins.
LIU Yang,FU Yanqiang,JIN Chuan,and FENG Chun Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry,University of Science and Technology Beijing,Beijing 100083,China
Different monolayers （ML） of Fe atoms were deposited on NiO （001） substrates or NiO underlayers using molecular beam epitaxy （MBE）, pulse laser deposition （PLD）, and magnetron sputtering （MS）. The magnetic properties and microstructure of the films were studied. The apparent magnetic dead layer （MDL） is found to exist at the NiO/Fe interfaces of the MBE sample （about 2 ML MDL）, the PLD sample （about 3 ML MDL）, and the MS sample （about 4 ML MDL）. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates the presence of ionic Fe （Fe2＋ or Fe3＋） and metallic Ni at the NiO/Fe interfaces, which may be due to the chemical reactions between Fe and NiO layers. This also leads to the formation of MDL. The thickness of the MDL and the reaction products are related with the deposition energy of the atoms on the substrates. The interfacial reactions are effectively suppressed by inserting a thin Pt layer at the NiO/Fe interface.
