Thickness and Interface-Dependent Structural, Magnetic, and Transport Properties of Cu/Co Thin Film and Multilayer Structures

Abstract

Structural, magnetic, and transport properties of electron beam evaporated Co/Cu thin films and multilayer structures (MLS) having different layer thicknesses have been characterized utilizing X-ray diffraction (XRD), magnetooptical Kerr effect (MOKE), and resistivity techniques. The structural studies show distinctive crystal structures for different sublayer thicknesses. The Co (300 Å) single layer film is amorphous, while Cu (300 Å) film is nanocrystalline in nature. The average particle size is found to decrease as the number of interface increases. The corresponding magnetic and resistivity measurements show an increase in saturation field and resistivity as a result of an enhanced anisotropy. However, coercivity decreases with a reduction in average particle size. The results conclude that these properties are greatly influenced by various microstructural parameters such as layer thickness, number of bilayers, and the quality of interfaces molded under different growth conditions.