Domain Wall and Domain Structure of Amorphous Multilayered Films

Studies on the effects of nonmagnetic (SiO
2
) intermediate layers of various thicknesses in amorphous Co-Zr-Nb films are described. Both SiO
2
and amorphous Co-Zr-Nb layers were formed by ion beam sputtering, and samples were annealed in rotating and dc magnetic fields to induce a uniaxial anisotropy. Domain wall and structure observations and coercivity measurements both indicated that as the nonmagnetic layer thickness b is increased, a transition from a multilayered to a single-layer film structure occurs at between 10 and 20 Å, while for b ≫ 1000 Å the film loses its multilayered character.