Magnetic studies of spin wave excitations in Fe/Mn multilayers

The structural and magnetic properties of Fe/Mn multilayers grown by thermal evaporation technique were investigated by transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer and spin wave theory. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the Fe and Mn layers are continuous with a significant interfacial roughness. The magnetic properties of Fe/Mn multilayers were studied for various Fe thicknesses (tFe). The change of magnetization as a function of temperature is well depicted by a T3/2 law. The Fe spin-wave constant was extracted and found to be larger than that reported for bulk Fe, which we attribute to the fluctuation of magnetic moments at the interface, due to the interfacial roughness. The experimental M (T) data were satisfactory fitted for multilayers with different Fe thicknesses; and several exchange interactions were extracted.