ORIENTATION AND STRUCTURE DEPENDENCE OF INTERFACE MAGNETOCRYSTALLINE ANISOTROPY OF CO CU OVERLAYERS AND SUPERLATTICES/

The full potential linearized augmented plane wave method and atomic f orce approach are employed for the theoretical determination of interf ace magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) for superlattice systems of Co /Cu in (001), (110), and (111) orientations, and overlayer systems of the monolayer Co on Cu (111) substrate adsorbed by different further c overage of Cu. It is found in superlattices that the interface MCA is sensitive to the geometry arising from different orientations. In good agreement with experiment, the interface MCA with Cu overlayers is fo und to peak at 1 monolayer of Cu-coated Co/Cu(111) and then to decreas e with further Cu deposition. In addition to the hybridization of elec tronic states at the Co/Cu interface, the interaction between the inte rface layers and the next-to-interface layers in superlattices and str ucture relaxation in overlayers may have a significant influence on th e MCA of the Co layer. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.