Giant magnetic moments of Fe ions in Fe/Be magnetic superlattices

Abstract Three series of magnetic superlattices Fe/Be synthesized by cathode sputtering in HV-discharge with oscillating electrons have been investigated by means of X-ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry including temperature dependencies of magnetization. These are Fe(4.9 A)/Be( t Be ), Fe(10 A)/Be( t Be ) series with constant Fe layer thicknesses and t Be =4–25 A and Fe( t Fe )/Be(8 A), t Fe =4.9–22 A. An oscillating dependency of spontaneous magnetization and other magnetic properties on the Be spacer thickness has been observed in the Fe(10 A)/Be( t Be ) series with period of 6–8 A, which may be interpreted within RKKY-approximation. Several samples show anomalous high values of spontaneous magnetization much exceeding that of bulk iron.