Structure and magnetic properties of Co/Pd multilayers prepared on porous nanotubular TiO2 substrate

Abstract

We used porous nanotubular templates of TiO2 for fabrication of Co/Pd antidot arrays with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The morphology of porous multilayers followed the features of the initial template demonstrating a pronounced relief consisting of the cells with periodic pores with small inclination. We confirmed the formation of Co0.4Pd0.6 alloy at the Co/Pd interface. We observed the conservation of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in the Co/Pd porous film with coercive field HC = 2.7 kOe, enhanced with respect to the continuous film due to the pinning of magnetic moments on the nanopore edges. From angular dependence of the coercive field HC we deduced the change of the magnetization reversal mechanism from domain wall motion in the continuous film to the predominantly coherent rotation mechanism in the porous film.