The role of Rh spacer layer thickness on the noncollinear interlayer exchange coupling

Abstract The relationship between noncollinear interlayer exchange coupling (IEC) and magnetic anisotropic behavior in Fe/Rh/Fe trilayers is studied in detail by using magneto-optical Kerr effect and anisotropic magnetoresistance techniques. It is found that the Rh spacer layer(SL) thickness strongly affect IEC and magnetic anisotropy in these trilayers. The role of Rh SL thickness is shown in the oscillatory behavior in the magnitude of the magnetic anisotropy, the transition from uniaxial to four-fold-like anisotropy, the shift of easy axis for magnetic anisotropy and the unusual increasing in the sheet resistance. As a outcome of this study we discuss the underlying mechanism based on the noncollinear IEC across the Fe/Rh/Fe interlayer. As a result, it has been shown that the noncollinear IEC can be controlled by the various Rh spacer thickness in nonmagnetic transition layer.