Magnetic anisotropy of Ni/Cu sputtered multilayers

Ni/Cu multilayers were grown by RF sputtering. The crystal orientation, the thickness of the elemental layers and the interface quality were analysed by X-ray diffraction in the theta -2 theta configuration. Magnetic anisotro py was investigated by both a static and a dynamic technique, namely magnet o-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and Brillouin light scattering (BLS). Longitud inal MOKE loops accounted for the in-plane orientation of the magnetization , while polar loops were used to determine the out-of-plane anisotropy fiel ds, showing the existence of a minor second-order contribution in addition to the first-order one. BLS was then exploited to detect thermal excited sp in waves through inelastic scattering of light. The out-of-plane anisotropy fields evaluated by this high-frequency dynamic technique compare well wit h the first-order values obtained by analysis of polar MOKE hysteresis cycl es. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.