Fe/Al multilayers, e-beam evaporated and thermally treated in UHV, were ana
lyzed by Mossbauer and magnetic measurements. Al diffusion along grain boun
daries into Fe gives rise to solid solution and paramagnetic compounds at i
nterfaces. By decreasing Fe thickness, the grain size decreases and the sur
rounding paramagnetic compounds increase, justifying the changes in hystere
sis loops and reversible susceptibility. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All
rights reserved.