Magnetic decoupling in sputtered Fe/Si superlattices and multilayers

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Abstract
Sputtered Fe/Si superlattices were grown to study the magnetic coupling between ferromagnetic Fe layers (30 Å thick) for Si spacer‐layer thicknesses (t Si) between 10 and 40 Å. The material is ferromagnetical for t Si≤13 Å and antiferromagnetically coupled for 13 Å≤t Si≤17 Å. For t Si≥17 Å the Fe layers are uncoupled. X‐ray analysis indicates that the system is well layered, but that the crystal structure remains coherent only for t Si≤17 Å. These results, along with our Mössbauer investigation, strongly suggest that the Si layer is crystalline for t Si≤17 Å, and is silicide in nature. For thicker spacers, Si becomes amorphous. We propose a model of the layering that is consistent with the known properties of Fe silicide.