Magnetic field induced transition from weak to strong ferromagnetic coupling in NiFe/Au/Co/Au multilayers

摘要

We report on a specific magnetostatic coupling in sputter deposited (Ni_(80)Fe_(20)/Au/Co/Au)_(10) multilayers of alternating in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic anisotropies. We demonstrate on the basis of complementary studies (magnetoresistance, conventional magnetometry, and element specific soft x-ray resonant magnetic scattering hysteresis measurements) that the magnetization reversal of the Ni-Fe layers is strongly influenced by a magnetostatic coupling originating from the out-of-plane stripe domain stray fields of the Co layers.