CONFINEMENT MECHANISM FOR STRONG TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENCE OF THE INTERLAYER EXCHANGE COUPLING IN CO CU(001)/

It is shown, within the quantum-well theory of the exchange coupling J in magnetic multilayers, that the temperature dependence of J is gove rned not only by the spacer Fermi surface but also by the confining st rength of the ferromagnetic layers. The confinement mechanism is first explored for an exactly solvable parabolic-band model and cases in wh ich it leads to a very strong temperature dependence of J are identifi ed. Finally, it is demonstrated, using fully realistic tight-binding b ands, that the confinement mechanism dominates J(T) in Co/Cu/Co(001).