Interlayer Exchange Coupling in Fe3Si/Ge/Fe3Si Films

Ferromagnetic resonance study of interlayer exchange coupling in Fe3Si/Ge/Fe3Si epitaxial trilayer films has been performed. Samples with technological Ge layer thicknesses t_Ge of 1 and 4 nm have been obtained by molecular beam epitaxy using deposition from separate thermal sources. The magnitude of the effective interlayer exchange coupling constant J_12 is equal to 0.7 and –0.18 erg/cm2 at t_Ge = 1 and 4 nm, respectively. Thus, interlayer exchange coupling in the studied structures is either ferromagnetic ( t_Ge = 1 nm) or antiferromagnetic ( t_Ge = 4 nm), depending on the thickness of the intermediate layer.