Magnetic properties of alternately evaporated Fe-Gd films

Alternately deposited Fe-Gd films were prepared in the conventional vacuum of 10-7Torr. Magnetization processes and Mossbauer spectra of the prepared films were measured at room temperature. The results were compared with those of the Fe-Sm films reported previously. The Gd layers in the prepared films were found to be oxidized but the content of the oxygen was not so much as that for the Fe-Sm films. When the thickness of each Fe layer was 15A, with the increase of each rare-earth thickness, the saturation magnetization of the film decreased. This decrease could be reasonably explained by the result of the Mossbauer measurements. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy to the film plane was observed under the conditions that the thickness of each Fe and Gd were 15-30A and 5-20A, respectively.