CONFIGURATION OF TBFE MULTILAYERS

Neutron reflectometry with polarization analysis has been performed on evaporated terbium-iron multilayers with different thicknesses of iro n and terbium. The use of polarization analysis allows one to determin e the direction of the in-plane component of the magnetic moments. The angle of the iron moments depends on the thickness of the layer and o n the type of interface. Textured and amorphous multilayers present ve ry different behaviour: for Tb(0001) textured samples the projection o f the iron moments is aligned along the six-fold anisotropy axis of th e rare earth. For Tb amorphous systems, the iron moments remain at a c onstant angle with respect to the perpendicular axis, but are randomly oriented in the plane or along the external field.