Low temperature magnetic and electrical properties of (co/al) multilayers

Magnetic multilayers, (Co(50nm)/Al(10nm))n; n =2 and 5 were deposited at 473K, under high vacuum conditions. X- ray diffraction (GIXRD) studies indicated amorphous nature of the films. Atomic force microscope (AFM) has been employed to study surface structure and grain sizes. The magnetization as a function of field at temperatures 150K, 200K and 300K has been measured using the MPMS SQUID - vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). From the hysteresis loops, coercive field, saturation magnetization, remanent magnetization and ant ferromagnetic coupling were determined. The existence of ant ferromagnetic interaction between Co layers through Al layer has been established for both the films. The low temperature electrical resistivity in the range from 5 K to 300 K has been measured and found metallic behavior in both the films. This is for the first time that (Co/Al) multilayers were investigated for structural and low temperature magnetic and electrical properties and data analyzed thoroughly.