Nowadays a wide number of applications based on magnetic materials relies on the properties arising at the interface between different layers in complex heterostructures engineered at the nanoscale. In ferromagnetic/heavy metal multilayers, such as the [Co/Pt]N and [Co/Pd]N systems, the magnetic proximity effect was demonstrated to be asymmetric, thus inducing a magnetic moment on the Pt(Pd) layer that is typically higher at the top Co/Pt(Pd) interface. In this work, advanced spectroscopic and imaging techniques were combined with theoretical approaches to clarify the origin of this asymmetry both in Co/Pt trilayers and, for the first time, in multilayer systems that are more relevant for practical applications. The different magnetic moment induced at the Co/Pt interfaces was correlated to the microstructural features, which are in turn affected by the growth processes that induce a different intermixing during the film deposition, thus influencing the interface magnetic profile.
@article{arxiv.2309.15663,
title = {Disclosing the nature of asymmetric interface magnetism in Co/Pt multilayers},
author = {Adriano Verna and Paola Alippi and Francesco Offi and Gianni Barucca and Gaspare Varvaro and Elisabetta Agostinelli and Manfred Albrecht and Bogdan Rutkowski and Alessandro Ruocco and Daniele Paoloni and Manuel Valvidares and Sara Laureti},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2309.15663},
year = {2023}
}