Assessment of Layer Thickness and Interface Quality in CoP Electrodeposited Multilayers

The magnetic properties of CoP electrodeposited alloys can be easily controlled by layering the alloys and modulating the P content of the different layers by using pulse plating in the electrodeposition process. However, because of its amorphous nature, the study of the interface quality, which is a limitation for the optimization of the soft magnetic properties of these alloys, becomes a complex task. In this work, we use Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) to determine that electrodeposited Co0.74P0.26/Co0.83P0.17 amorphous multilayers with layers down to 20 nm-thick are composed by well-defined layers with interfacial roughness below 3 nm. We have also determined, using magnetostriction measurements, that 4 nm is the lower limitation for the layer thickness. Below this thickness, the layers are mixed and the magnetic behavior of the multilayered films is similar to that shown by single layers, thus going from in-plane to out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy. Therefore, these results establish the range in which the magnetic properties of these alloys can be controlled by layering.