Magnetization and finite-size effects in Gd/W multilayers

We have studied the magnetization and finite-size effects of thin Gd layers in sputter-deposited Gd/W multilayers. The interfacial Gd atoms lose about 9% of their moment, as the result of being in proximity with W. Annealing the multilayers at high temperatures improves the crystalline quality and sharpens the susceptibility peaks. The Curie temperature TC decreases with decreasing dGd according to the finite-size scaling relation [TC(∞)−TC(d)]/TC(∞)=(d/d0)−λ. The shift exponent λ has been found to be 1.5±0.1 and the constant d0 to be 13 Å.