Interface analysis of (110)-oriented Co/Pt superlattices with large magnetic anisotropies using x-ray diffraction

Abstract

We report on studies of the profiles of the strain field components in epitaxially grown (110)-oriented Co/Pt superlattices with fixed Pt layer thickness (nominally 18 Å) and varying Co layer thickness. The strain profiles in the growth direction as well as fluctuations in lattice parameters at the interfaces are obtained using a parameter refinement method for the quantitative analysis of high angle θ-2θ x-ray diffraction scans. We find that all strain components originate only from the Co-Pt interfaces. Off-axial x-ray scattering measurements provide for the in-plane strain components, which are found to increase with increasing Co layer thickness. From the obtained strain fields the in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy contributions caused by magnetoelastic interactions are calculated, which agree well with experimentally observed values.