Surface and interface magnetism of Fe/Cr/Fe[001]

The surface and interface magnetism of Fe/Cr/Fe(001) is investigated using the full-potential linearized augmented-plane-wave (FLAP W) energy band method. It is found that the magnetic moment of surface Fe is 2.37 μ_B which is smaller than that of clean bcc Fe surface (2.98 μ) but larger than that of bulk Fe (2.22 μ_B). The calculated magnetic moment of interface Fe, 2.01 μ_B, is smaller than that of bulk value, while that of interface Cr, 0.75 μ_B, is slightly enhanced compared with the bulk value (0.59 μ_B). We find that these features are related to a strong d-d hybridization between Fe and Cr. We also compare our results with previous calculations of Fe/Cr(001). The calculated charge density, spin density, and density of states are presented and discussed in relation to magnetic properties.