Unidirectional magnetic anisotropy in Ni/(Al, Cu)/NiMn trilayer films

Abstract Magnetic anisotropy in reentrant spin-glass NiMn and Ni thin films in Ni/(Al, Cu)/NiMn trilayers films are investigated. The unidirectional anisotropy of Ni and NiMn layers shows the oscillatory behaviors whose period depends on the Al and Cu spacer thicknesses. These results can be explained in terms of two kinds of magnetic couplings, the magnetostatic and the RKKY type couplings, between Ni and NiMn layers.