Sm(Co,Cu)5/Fe exchange spring multilayer films with high energy product -: art. no. 122509

The [Sm(Co,Cu)(5)/Fe](6) multilayer film that was fabricated by annealing Cr[a-(Sm-Co)(9 nm)/Cu(x nm)/Fe(5 nm)/Cu(x nm)](6)/Cr(x=0-0.75) multilayer has shown good in-plane texture and a high maximum energy product (BH)(max) of 32 MGOe with a coercivity of 7.24 kOe. The addition of the Cu layer between the a-d-SM-Co-6 and Fe layers with optimum thickness increases the coercivity significantly, thereby improving the maximum energy product. The single-phase behavior and the irreversible rotation in the demagnetization process indicates strong exchange coupling between the Sm(Co,Cu)(5) and Fe layers. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.