Formation of nonmagnetic c-Fe1-xSi in antiferromagnetically coupled epitaxial Fe/Si/Fe

Low-energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, and conversion electron Mossbauer spectroscopy have been applied to study antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled epitaxial Fe/Si/Fe(100). It is shown that a bcc-like (100) structure is maintained throughout the layers after a recrystallization of the spacer layer by Fe/Si interdiffusion. Direct experimental evidence is presented that c-Fe1-xSi (0 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 0.5) is formed in the spacer layer, a nonmagnetic metallic metastable iron silicide phase with a CsCl structure (B2), which supports explanations for the antiferromagnetic exchange coupling given recently.