Spinflop behavior and magnetoresistance for the Fe/Gd double structured multilayer films.

Fe/Gd double structured multilayer films composed of alternate stacking of two different-type Fe/ Gd sub-multilayers were prepared by rf sputtering. The structure for one type of the sub-multilayer consisted of Fe(15Å)/Gd(5Å) where the magnetization in Fe layers is dominant. The other sub-multilayer consisted of Fe(5Å)/Gd(15Å) ere the magnetization in Gd layers is dominant at room temperature. A definite spinflop behavior of magnetization was observed even at room temperature and at low magnetic fields. It was further found that the spinflop resulted in a crossover between the longitudinal and transverse magnetoresistances. The magnetic field where the spinflop occurs was found to decrease with increases in the superstructure period.