Effect of an ultrathin Au interlayer at a Co/Cu(111) interface on the magnetic properties

We have found from spin-wave Brillouin spectra that a half-monatomic thick Au interlayer at a Co/Cu(111) interface causes a significant improvement in magnetic uniformity in the Co ultrathin overlayer film deposited. The field-independent Brillouin spectrum width abruptly decreases with the insertion of the Au-interlayer, and an inhomogeneous transition at a critical field between out-of-plane and in-plane magnetizations also is suppressed. From the field dependence of the spin-wave energy, we find that the second-order uniaxial perpendicular anisotropy increases with the Au interlayer. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.