Study of the interface interaction of epitaxial Fe Cr layers

Investigations on the magnetic behavior of expitaxially grown Fe films on C r were performed by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and by SQUID DC-magnetome try. The magnetic Fe parameters show a significant deviation from the expec ted temperature dependence which is attributed to a change of the interface coupling between Fe and Cr. The observed anomalies are related to the spin -flip in Cr where the orientation of the magnetic moments flips from out-of -plane to in-plane alignment. The spin-flip transition temperature depends on the Cr thickness. The spin-flip is suppressed for Cr thicknesses compara ble to the wavelength of the sinusoidal modulated antiferromagnetic grounds tate. In addition, the influence of the interface conditions on the formati on of standing spin waves in Fe on Cr has been studied. (C) 1999 Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.