Interlayer exchange coupling in Fe/Au multilayers

The aim of this article is to present ab initio calculations of interlayer exchange coupling for Fe/Au (001) multilayers with the same spacer thicknes s as in recently performed experiments. The structure is characterized by a bcc-fcc transition. The calculations are based on density functional theor y using a scalar relativistic screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method. The r esults show that in case of ideally smooth interfaces the differences of th e theoretically and experimentally obtained coupling strengths by one order of magnitude remain. It will be demonstrated that the usual explanation by means of a mesoscopic roughness fails. (C) 2000 American Institute of Phys ics. [S0021-8979(00)86308-2].