The effect of a nonmagnetic cap layer on the spin-polarized tunneling and magnetoresistance in double-barrier planar junctions

Autor: Zheng‐wei Xie, Yu‐xian Li, Bo-Zang Li
Rok vydání: 2003
Předmět:
Zdroj: physica status solidi (b). 239:463-469
ISSN: 1521-3951
0370-1972
DOI: 10.1002/pssb.200301840
Popis: Si/(Pt/Co/Pt) modulated multilayers (MLs) have been prepared by magnetic sputtering method with Si layer thickness d(Si) varying from 0 to 16 Angstrom. We found that the intercalating of Si between Pt layers in Pt/Co MLs could cause a strong interdiffusion of Si atoms into Pt layer, Pt-Co interfaces and Co layers. The effective saturation magnetization 4, of the Pt/Co MLs changes slightly when Si thickness is less than about similar to7 Angstrom. When the Si layer thickness is larger than similar to7 Angstrom, formation of Co silicides at interfaces and in the Co layers leads to sharp decrease of the effective saturation magnetization M-s of the multilayers. The effective perpendicular magnetic anisotropy constant K-u eff is more sensitive to the interface structure and it drops monotonically with increasing Si thickness due to the intermixing of the atoms at the interfaces. The coercivity H-c also decreases with increasing the Si layer thickness due to the decrease of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. (C) 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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