Effect of Co and Cu Layer Thicknesses on Characterization of Electrodeposited Co/Cu Multilayers

Co/Cu multilayers were grown on polycrystalline Cu substrates from a single electrolyte by electrodeposition potentiostatically. The structural, magnetic and magnetoresistance (MR) properties of the multilayers were characterized according to both Co and Cu layer thicknesses. The structural analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that all samples have face-centered cubic (fcc) structure with a strong (100) texture. Magnetic characterizations studied by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) revealed that the easy axes of the multilayers are parallel to the film plane. From magnetoresistance (MR) measurements, it was observed that all samples exhibited giant magnetoresistance (GMR). The GMR behavior of the multilayers changes depending on the thicknesses of both Co and Cu layers.