Magnetic ordering and anisotropies of atomically layered Fe/Au(0 0 1) multilayers

We investigate the temperature dependence of the magnetization reversal process and of spinwaves in epitaxially grown (0 0 1)-oriented [Fe m/Au n] 30 multilayers ( m=1, 2; n=1–6). Both polar magneto-optic Kerr effect and Brillouin light scattering measurements reveal that all investigated multilayers, apart from the [Fe 2/Au 1] 30-sample, are magnetized perpendicular to the film plane. The out-of-plane anisotropy constants are obtained. At high temperature, the magnetization curves are well described by an alternating stripe domain structure with free mobile domain walls, and at low temperature by a thermal activation model for the domain wall motion.