INTERLAYER COUPLING AND SPIN POLARIZATION OF THE NONMAGNETIC LAYERS IN FE CU AND FE/AG CMFS/

Compositionally modulated films (CMFs) of Fe/Cu and Fe/Ag, made by RF sputtering, were investigated with ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), nucl ear magnetic resonance (NMR), and magneto-optical (MO) spectroscopy. E vidence of spin polarization of the nonmagnetic layers, related to the interlayer coupling, was obtained. Direct evidence of the penetration of an exchange field and the spin polarization of the conduction elec trons in the nonmagnetic Cu layers was obtained in Fe/Cu CMFs by NMR. Spin-wave resonances were observed in Fe/Cu CMFs in FMR experiments, a nd the spin wave was found to be sustained by both the Fe and Cu subla yers. The MO spectra of Fe/Ag CMFs indicated that the conduction elect rons of Ag are spin polarized and give an additional MO activity.