Characterisation of cobalt/copper multilayers obtained by electrodeposition

Electrodeposition of Co/Cu compositionally modulated multilayers was studied, using a single bath under potentiostatic conditions. The structure of the multilayers was characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Co/Cu multilayers with different sublayer thickness can be produced from a single bath as a function of different pulse potentials and deposition charges, avoiding cobalt oxidation at the start of each copper deposition. Copper sublayers are constituted of pure copper whereas `cobalt' sublayers contain a low copper percentage (less than or equal to2%). The multilayered Co/Cu depasits exhibit giant magnetaresistance when the thickness of the bilayers is approximately a few nanometers. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.