Surface spin-flop transition in Fe/Cr(211) superlattices: Experiment and theory

Abstract

We report experimental and theoretical studies of the magnetization curves of Fe/Cr(211) superlattices with antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling and uniaxial in-plane anisotropy. There are substantial differences between structures with an even and an odd number of Fe layers, when the magnetic field is applied along the easy axis. For even layered superlattices, the inequivalence of the terminal Fe layers gives rise to a surface spin-flop transition that evolves into a bulk spin-flop arrangement with increasing magnetic field, as originally envisioned by Keffer and Chow [Phys. Rev. Lett. 31, 1061 (1973)].