Bragg magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements at Co stripe arrayson Fe(001)

We report on magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements of a patterned spin valve system, consisting of few-micrometers-wide Co stripes on a continuous Fe film separated by a 14 - nm -thick Cr spacer layer. The spin valve array was studied by regular longitudinal MOKE in specular geometry as well as in Bragg MOKE geometry, using the diffraction spots from the grating for hysteresis measurements. We have investigated the shape of the hysteresis loops and the Kerr amplitude as a function of the diffraction order and for various grating periods. The hysteresis loops measured at the diffracted spots reveal an amplification of the Kerr signal in the field regime where the magnetization of the Fe and Co layers is antiparallel.