Investigation of interlayer coupling in [Fe/Cr]n magnetic multilayer structures by the ferromagnetic resonance method (Review)

The properties and nature of the interlayer coupling and the possible types of magnetic ordering in magnetic superlattices and sandwiches remain topical questions in the physics of magnetic phenomena. The existing models describing the interaction between ferromagnetic layers via the nonferromagnetic spacer layer and the predicted temperature dependence of the coupling constants in those models are briefly reviewed. The effectiveness of the ferromagnetic resonance method for investigating the interlayer coupling is discussed. A review of recent experimental studies of the interlayer coupling in superlattices and sandwiches of the Fe/Cr system by this method over a wide range of temperatures is presented (including original papers by the author and co-workers). The experimental data are analyzed on the basis of the existing theories. The regions of applicability of these model for describing the properties of such systems. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.