2 OSCILLATORY BEHAVIORS AS FUNCTIONS OF FERROMAGNETIC LAYER THICKNESS IN FE/CR(100) MULTILAYERS

Oscillatory magnetoresistance as a function of the Fe layer thickness has been found in Fe/Cr(100) multilayers deposited on MgO(100). It is mainly attributed to an oscillatory interlayer exchange coupling between adjacent Fe layers as a function of the Fe layer thickness. Further, oscillatory variation of the saturation resistivity with Fe layer thickness was also observed. Both the oscillation periods are approximately 8 angstrom. These two oscillations can be understood in terms of the partial confinement of the perpendicular motion to the layer plane of Fe majority spin electrons.