Improved growth and perpendicular anisotropy in Pd-Co multilayers with intentionally alloyed layers

Polycrystalline Pd-m-[CoPd](n), multilayers were grown by e-beam evaporatio n on polyimide, Si and glass substrates. The number of Pd atomic layers in one multilayer period was m approximate to 15 while the number n, of the al loyed layers ranged between 2 and 6. Transmission electron microscopy exper iments confirmed the excellent multilayer growth. The grain size of the cry stals was determined to be 10-30 nm. No columnar growth was observed. Super Conducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometry at temperature s of 10-300 K revealed a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with a squ areness ratio of approximately 1 for all thicknesses. The film with the thi nnest magnetic layers presented a reduced remanence at room temperature, wh ich is attributed to the formation of ferromagnetic domains near the Curie temperature. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.