Magnetic structure and anisotropy of [Co/Pd][subscript 5]/NiFe multilayers

• Main Authors: Guo, Feng (Author), Nguyen, T. N. Anh (Author), Mohseni, Majid S. (Author), Chung, Sunjae (Author), Fang, Yeyu (Author), Åkerman, Johan (Author), McMichael, R. D. (Author), Tryputen, Larysa (Contributor), Liu, Frank (Contributor), Ross, Caroline A (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Physical Society (APS), 2017-11-16T15:58:46Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

The magnetization behavior, magnetic anisotropy, and domain configurations of Co/Pd multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy capped with permalloy is investigated using magnetometry, magnetic force microscopy, and ferromagnetic resonance. The thickness of the Ni80Fe20 layer in [Co/Pd][subscript 5]/NiFe (t) was varied from t=0 to 80 nm in order to study the interplay between the anisotropy and magnetization directions of Co/Pd and NiFe. By varying the thickness of the NiFe layer, the net anisotropy changes sign, but domains with plane-normal magnetization are present even for the thickest NiFe. Ferromagnetic resonance measurements show a decrease in damping with increasing NiFe thickness. The results demonstrate how the magnetic behavior of mixed-anisotropy thin films can be controlled.