Tuning thermo-magnetic properties of dilute-ferromagnet multilayers using RKKY interaction

Abstract

We demonstrate a 20-fold enhancement in the strength of the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interlayer exchange in dilute-ferromagnet/normal-metal multilayers by incorporating ultrathin Fe layers at the interfaces. Additionally, the resulting increase in the interface magnetic polarization profoundly affects the finite-size effects, sharpening the Curie transition of the multilayer, while allowing us to separately tune its Curie temperature via intra-layer magnetic dilution. These results should be useful for designing functional materials for applications in magnetocaloric micro-refrigeration and thermally assisted spin-electronics.