Rare earth superlattices

摘要

A review is given of recent experiments on the magnetism of rare earth superlattices. Early experimrnts in this field were concerned mainly with systems formed by combining a magnetic and a non-magnetic element in a superlattice structure. From results gathered on a variety of systems it has been establishd that the propagation of magnetic order through the non-magnetic spacer can be understood mostly on the basis of an RKKY-like model,where the strength and range of the coupling depends on the details of the conduction electron susceptibility of the spacer. Recent experiments on more complex systems indicate that this model does not provide a complete description. Examples include superlattices where the constituents can either be both magnetic, adopt different crystall structures (Fermi surfaces), or where one of the consituents has a non-magnetic singlet ground state. The results from such systems are presented and discussed in the context of the currently accepted model.