Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
We describe measurements on the magnetic properties of Co-Cu superlattices in which the Co layer thickness was fixed at 20 Å and the Cu thickness was varied from 4 Å to 24 Å. The samples were grown on Ge-buffered (110) GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy. X-ray scattering and in-situ RHEED indicate that the multilayers are oriented in the (111) direction with the Co layers stacked in an fcc arrangement. Our interest in this series of samples lies in their unusual hysteresis curves which show distinct transitions. We have found that the appearance of these transitions is directly related to the Cu thickness, indicating the presence of complex spin configurations as a consequence of competing interactions. The results are not consistent with a simple RKKY antiferromagnetic coupling.