SMOKE Studies of Electrodeposited Mono- and Multilayers

The electrochemical deposition of cobalt and copper was used to generate cobalt thin films and Co/Cu bilayers with varying cobalt coverages on a Au(111) electrode and a Co/Cu multilayer on a polycrystalline gold electrode. The magnetic properties of the samples obtained were characterized by ex situ surface magneto-optic Kerr effect (SMOKE) measurements, and well-developed magnetic hysteresis loops were obtained in all cases. The magnetic hysteresis parameters are presented as a function of the cobalt thickness and compared with existing magneto-optic theory. The samples did not show in-plane magnetic anisotropy; therefore, there is no evidence indicative of monocrystallinity in the Co deposits.