Antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling in epitaxial Fe/MgO/Fe trilayers with MgO barriers as thin as single monolayers

Comparative studies of the magnetic properties of epitaxial Fe/MgO/Fe trilayers, which were directly grown on an MgO(001) crystal and a homoepitaxial MgO buffer layer, were performed to examine the interlayer exchange coupling as a function of the MgO spacer thickness. Measurements of the magneto-optic Kerr effect at room temperature demonstrated that there was a strong antiferromagnetic coupling (AFC) between the Fe layers, which was mediated by the insulating MgO barrier. A measurable AFC was found in a range of MgO thickness (d(MgO)) from a single monolayer (2 angstrom) to 6 angstrom, which had a maximum strength of -1.15 ergs/cm(2) at d(MgO) = 2.7 angstrom for the Fe/MgO/Fe trilayers that were prepared on the buffered sample and was notably weaker for the trilayers that were prepared directly on the MgO(001). (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.