Element-specific magnetization curves and crossover in Co/Cu/Ni/Cu(001) trilayers studied by XMCD

Abstract

We present temperature-dependent measurements via the element-specific XMCD technique for Co/Cu/Ni trilayers for cases where the ordering temperature of Co is lower than the one of Ni. Our work focuses mainly on the influence of the interlayer coupling on the shape of the temperature-dependent magnetization curves of Ni. By selecting 1.3 ML of Co and 4 ML of Ni we get a lower TC(Co)≈ 90 K and a higher TC(Ni)≈ 180 K. The crossing of the M(T) curves leads to a rotation of the remanent magnetization of Ni. A case where the sublayer magnetizations change gradually their angle as a function of the temperature is recorded and attributed to a competition between coupling and anisotropy mechanisms.