TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT CROSSOVER FROM FERRO-MAGNETIC TO ANTIFERROMAGNETIC INTERLAYER ALIGNMENT DUE TO MAGNETIC-ANISOTROPY ENERGY

The temperature dependence of the interlayer coupling of perpendicular ly magnetized Ni/Cu/Ni(001) trilayers is studied. A crossover in the a lignment of the sublayer magnetizations from parallel to antiparallel is observed with increasing temperature, although the interlayer excha nge is measured to be antiferromagnetic for all temperatures. The cros sover is the result of the competition between the antiferromagnetic i nteraction and the magnetic anisotropy energy. This Ni/Cu/Ni trilayer with moderate exchange coupling serves as a model for magnetic multila yers in which the interlayer coupling can be switched with temperature .