Magneto-elastic and interface anisotropy of epitaxial Cu/Ni/Cu[001] sandwiches

For epitaxial Cu/Ni/Cu/Ni/sub 60/Cu/sub 40//Cu[001] and Cu/30 /spl Aring/ Ni/Cu/Ni/Cu[001] structures, the in-plane lattice parameter of the Cu spacer layer is found to increase with its thickness. The Ni in-plane lattice parameter becomes larger with increasing Cu spacer thickness. Cu/Ni/Cu/Ni/sub 60/Cu/sub 40/[001] structures show an increase in the magneto-elastic anisotropy with increasing Cu spacer thickness but no significant difference between the interface anisotropy of the Ni-Cu and the Ni-Ni/sub 60/Cu/sub 40/ interface.