Magnetic Properties of EuS/Co Multilayers on KCl and BaF2 Substrates

M. Szot a, L. Kowalczyk a, T. Story a, V. Domukhovski a, W. Knoff a, K. Gas b, V.V. Volobuev c, A.Yu. Sipatov c and A.G. Fedorov d a Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland b Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, College of Science, Cardinal S. Wyszyński University, Dewajtis 5, 01-185 Warsaw, Poland c National Technical University KPI, 21 Frunze Street, 61002 Kharkov, Ukraine d Institute for Scintillation Materials, NASU, Lenin Ave. 60, 61001 Kharkov, Ukraine

Full Text PDF

Received: 7 06 2008;

Magnetic and structural properties of EuS/Co multilayers were studied by magnetic optical Kerr effect and SQUID magnetometry techniques and by X-ray diffraction method. The multilayers containing monocrystalline, ferromagnetic EuS layer (thickness 35-55 Å) and metallic Co layer (thickness 40-250 Å), were grown on KCl (001) and BaF2 (111) substrates using high vacuum deposition technique employing electron guns for Co and EuS. All investigated EuS/Co multilayers exhibit ferromagnetic properties at room temperature due to Co layer with the ferromagnetic transition in EuS layer clearly marked upon cooling below 16 K. In EuS/Co/EuS trilayers grown on KCl substrate the antiferromagnetic alignment of magnetization vectors of Co and EuS layers was experimentally observed as a characteristic low field plateau on magnetization hysteresis loops and a decrease in multilayer magnetization below 16 K. In Co/EuS bilayers the characteristic temperature dependent shift of magnetization loops was found due to exchange bias effect attributed to the CoO/Co interface formed by the oxidation of the top Co layer.

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.114.1397 PACS numbers: 75.30.Et, 75.75.+a