Impact of interfaces on magnetic properties of Gdx(Fe90Co10)1−x alloys

Abstract

A 5 nm thick ferrimagnetic film made of amorphous rare-earth transition-metal alloys Gdx(Fe90Co10)1-x was grown by physical vapor deposition. Its magnetic properties (coercivity, perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, and compensation composition at room temperature) were investigated for various buffer and capping layers in contact with a ferrimagnetic thin film. While Gdx(Fe90Co10)1-x appears to be amorphous for all the samples, it appears that (111) textured Cu is the best material to promote perpendicular magnetization. The large compensation composition change as a function of the magnetic film interface at room temperature is analyzed in terms of polarizability of the surrounding buffer and capping materials.