THEORY OF ANISOTROPY IN STRAINED SUPERLATTICES

Expressions for the magnetic anisotropy energy of strained fcc, bcc, a nd simple cubic superlattices are obtained for the (100), (011), and ( 111) orientations. The theory is based on summing pair interactions us ing the potential (M.R)2, where M is the magnetization and R is the ve ctor connecting the two atoms. The theory is shown to predict the orie ntation independence of the interface anisotropy in a system of Co/Pd superlattices, in agreement with experiment and detailed electronic st ructure calculation.