Effects of orientation and temperature on magnetoresistance of Fe/Si multilayers

Epitaxial-(1 0 0), textured-(1 0 0) and epitaxial-(1 1 0) Fe/Si multilayers (MLs) were grown by a sputtering system, and the orientation and temperature dependences of magnetoresistance (MR) were studied. The MR of Fe/Si MLs did not strongly depend on the interfacial roughness. Instead, the MR depended on the kind of silicides formed in the spacer. The temperature dependence of MR and the saturation field in these MLs showed the similar tendencies, implying that the kind of silicides in the spacer determined the temperature dependence of MR and interlayer exchange coupling.