Magnetic decoupling in sputtered Fe/Si superlattices and multilayers

Sputtered Fe/Si superlattices were grown to study the magnetic coupling between ferromagnetic Fe layers (30 A thick) for Si spacer‐layer thicknesses (tSi) between 10 and 40 A. The material is ferromagnetical for tSi≤13 A and antiferromagnetically coupled for 13 A≤tSi≤17 A. For tSi≥17 A the Fe layers are uncoupled. X‐ray analysis indicates that the system is well layered, but that the crystal structure remains coherent only for tSi≤17 A. These results, along with our Mossbauer investigation, strongly suggest that the Si layer is crystalline for tSi≤17 A, and is silicide in nature. For thicker spacers, Si becomes amorphous. We propose a model of the layering that is consistent with the known properties of Fe silicide.