STRUCTURAL AND MAGNETIC-ORDERING OF CHROMIUM IN AG CR MULTILAYERS/

We studied the influence of the lattice structure on the chromium magn etism in Ag/Cr multilayers by combining structural characterization te chniques and perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy. Chromium in A g/Cr multilayers orders as an incommensurate longitudinal spin-density wave (SDW) with the spins oriented out of plane. A size effect induce s the instability of the SDW below a critical chromium thickness. The absence of the spin-flip transition, the position of the Neel temperat ure, and the actual character of the SDW are attributed to the specifi c structural properties. [S0031-9007(98)07171-3].