Metamagnetic Transitions and Stepwise GMR in Uniaxial Fe/Cr Superlattices

Abstract:

We investigated the structure, magnetic and magnetoresistive properties of antiferromagnetically coupled [Fe(85Å)/Cr(tCr)]12 superlattices with the Cr layers thickness tCr = 12.4 and 13.6 Å, grown simultaneously on (100)MgO and (211)MgO substrates. It is shown that the (211)MgO substrate is appropriate for the growth of (210)Fe/Cr multilayers with a strong uniaxial in-plane anisotropy. The stepwise behavior of magnetization and magnetoresistance is revealed in the case when the magnetic field is applied along the easy axis in a film plane of (211)MgO/[(210)Fe/Cr]12 superlattices. The steps on M(H) and ΔR(H)/R dependences are caused by the flip of the magnetic moments of individual Fe layers. The qualitative information about the sequence of spin-flip transitions is extracted from the comparative analysis of magnetization and magnetoresistance data.

• Periodical: Advances in Science and Technology (Volume 52)
• Pages: 104-109
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AST.52.104
• Online since: October 2006
• Authors: V.V. Ustinov, L.N. Romashev, M.A. Milyaev, T.P. Krinitsina, A.M. Burkhanov
• Keywords: Magnetoresistivity MR, Metamagnetic Transitions, Superlattice

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