CO NI MULTILAYERS WITH PERPENDICULAR MAGNETIC-ANISOTROPY/

After a short review of recent investigations and the understanding of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of Co/Ni multilayers, various n ew results on the properties of Co/Ni type multilayers are presented. The demagnetization mechanism was studied by Kerr microscopy. Annealin g studies showed a high thermal stability of the modulated structure. Partial substitution of Pd for Ni gave an increase of the anisotropy a nd coercivity, but a decrease of the Kerr effect. After proposing a co mmon origin for the interface anisotropy in multilayers and the anisot ropy in alloys induced by magnetic annealing, perpendicular anisotropy in ternary CoFe/Ni multilayers was discovered.