INTERFACIAL SPIN-DEPENDENT SCATTERING IN CO-RE ANTIFERROMAGNETICALLY COUPLED MULTILAYERS

Magnetoresistance enhancement in antiferromagnetically coupled Co-Re m ultilayers is discussed in terms of an extended Camley and Barnas mode l involving both interfacial and bulk spin-dependent scattering. We fi nd that for Co-Re multilayers, interface scattering alone can explain all independent sets of experimental data. This was further studied by adding monolayers of a third element X = Fe, Ni, Cr, Mo to the Co-Re interface. In the case of Cr or Mo, 1 ML added at the interface is suf ficient to suppress antiferromagnetic coupling and magnetoresistance e nhancement. Addition of Fe or Ni at the Co-Re interface is only effect ive up to 1 ML. For thicker Fe or Ni layers added at the interface the magnetoresistance remains essentially constant. This is a clear indic ation of an interface effect.