TY  - JOUR
AU  - Blizak, S.
AU  - Bihlmayer, G.
AU  - Blügel, S.
AU  - Abaidia, S. E. H.
TI  - Interlayer exchange coupling between FeCo and Co ultrathin films through Rh(001) spacers
JO  - Physical review / B
VL  - 91
IS  - 1
SN  - 1098-0121
CY  - College Park, Md.
PB  - APS
M1  - FZJ-2015-00330
SP  - 014408
PY  - 2015
AB  - Using spin density functional theory (SDFT) calculations, we have studied the magnetic states, including collinear and noncollinear magnetic interlayer coupling, of Fe1−xCox ultrathin films sandwiching Rh(001) layers. We found very large values for the interlayer exchange coupling (IEC) in Co/Rhn/Co or (FeCo)m/Rhn/Co structures as compared to, e.g., Ag or Au spacer layers. The IEC oscillates with the Rh spacer thickness showing a transition between strong antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic coupling between five- and seven-layer thickness of the Rh film. Moreover, depending on the thickness of the FeCo film, a reorientation transition between in-plane and out-of-plane easy axis was found when spin-orbit coupling is considered in the calculations. This result suggests that, for specific arrangements such as (FeCo)2/Rh5/Co structures, a competition between IEC and magnetic anisotropy of coupled films may result in noncollinear ordering. This possibility was studied with constrained, noncollinear SDFT calculations and the results were mapped onto a classical spin model to explore the richness of spin structures that can arise in these multilayer systems.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000348395300004
DO  - DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.91.014408
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/186246
ER  -