THE EFFECT OF PD LAYER THICKNESS ON THE MAGNETIC AND MAGNETOOPTICAL PROPERTIES OF PD (PT/CO/PT) MODULATED MULTILAYERS/

A series of Pd-t(Pd)/(Pt-2 Angstrom/Co-3 Angstrom/Pt-2 Angstrom) modul ated multilayer films with Pd layer thickness t(Pd) ranging from 3 to 12 Angstrom have been deposited on oxidized Si substrates, SQUID magne tic and Kerr hysteresis loop measurements reveal that large magnetic m oment and Kerr rotation is achieved in the multilayers wit:h Pd layer thicknesses less than 6 Angstrom. This result, and X-ray diffraction d ata suggest that the Pd layer thickness strongly affects the magnitude of the induced magnetic moment and Kerr rotation as well as the sharp ness of the interfaces of Pd/(Pt/Co/Pt) multilayers. A Kerr rotation o f 0.3 degrees is observed near 400 nm in the multilayer film with t(Pd ) of 6 Angstrom. The multilayers with t(Pd) of 6 to 12 Angstrom exhibi t perpendicular magnetic anisotropy energies as high as 7x10(7) erg/cm (3).