Ultra-high-vacuum electron-beam-evaporated Co/Fe multilayers (C-x/Fe-3x wit
h x = 5, 10, 15 nm) were studied by atomic and magnetic force microscopy (A
FM, MFM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and conversion electron Mossb
auer spectroscopy (CEMS). MFM investigation showed long, dense and parallel
domain regions (stripe domains) with the average width decreasing with the
multilayer thickness. VSM and CEMS measurements showed the presence of an
out-of-plane anisotropy, whose origin is ascribed to a planar stress at the
interfaces, and which can give account of the observed narrow stripe domai
n pattern. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.