Synchrotron X-ray study of the epitaxial Co/Pt multilayers on Al2O3(11(2)over-bar-0) substrates with Pt/Mo buffer layers

In this study, epitaxial [Co(t nm)/Pt(1 nm)](30) multilayer samples (t = 1, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.25 and 0.2 nm) were studied using X-ray measurements. The samples were prepared on Pt(1 1 1)/Mo(1 1 0) buffered Al2O3(1 1 (2) over bar 0) substrates in the MBE chamber. It was found that the Pt layer in the multilayer has a compressible strain of about 2-3.5% along the in-plane direction and the saturation magnetization is roughly proportional to this strain. Polarized X-ray absorption spectroscopy study showed that the Co layer is more like an FCC pseudomorphic structure for Co thickness less than 0.5 nm. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.