Magnetic anisotropy, magnetic moments and coupling of Cu/Co/Cu/Ni/Cu(001) trilayer

Polar magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements on an epitaxial Gu/Co ( 23 Angstrom)/Cu (0-49 Angstrom)/Ni (53 Angstrom)/Cu/Si(001) structure revea l that the Ni magnetization is aligned in plane for zero Cu spacer layer th ickness and becomes increasingly aligned out of plane with increasing Cu sp acer layer thickness, whereas an in-plane remanent magnetization for Co is always observed. Layer selective polarized neutron reflection (PNR) measure ments yield almost bulk-like magnetic moments of 1.57 +/- 0.08 mu(B) for Co and 0.05 +/- 0.04 mu(B) for Ni for a Cu/Co (22 Angstrom)/Cu(10 Angstrom)/N i (53 Angstrom)/Cu/Si(001) structure at room temperature. A reduced remanen ce is observed for both the out-of plane magnetization by polar MOKE, and t he in-plane magnetization for Co and Ni by PNR. This could suggest either a canted magnetization or multidomain state at remanence.