The thermal deposition of Co onto Cu(111) resulted in 3-dimensional island growth, and a face-centered-cubic hexagonal close-packed stacking fault which hindered complete antiferromagnetic coupling in Co/Cu(111) superlattices. Such Co/Cu(111) films could be grown, so as to exhibit good layer-by-layer morphologies and appreciably fewer stacking faults, by using pulsed-laser deposition. It was shown that complete antiferromagnetic coupling could be achieved in pulsed-laser deposited Co/Cu trilayers.

Suppression of the Face-Centered-Cubic Hexagonal Close-Packed Stacking Fault in Co/Cu(111) Ultra-Thin Films by Pulsed Laser Deposition. M.Zheng, J.Shen, C.V.Mohan, P.Ohresser, J.Barthel, J.Kirschner: Applied Physics Letters, 1999, 74[3], 425-7