A variety of superlattices, multilayers and metastable solids will be fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and advanced sputtering, and characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and other microstructure techniques. In the rare earth superlattices, the magnetic properties, tailored spin structures and interlayer coupling will be explored. Periodic as well as aperiodic superlattices will be studied. They will investigate the linkage of collinear and helical spin structures in gadolinium-dysprosium superlattices. Iron and cobalt based superlattices are well suited for the investigation of the magnetic properties of thin magnetic layers and effects due to layer thickness, crystalline orientation and interfacial coupling. In multilayer systems, the behavior of thin alloy layers, both cryatalline and amorphous, and either ferromagnetic or spin glasss, will be studied. Magnetic surface anisotropy, its dependence on layer thickness and crystalline orientation, and the possibility of perpendicular surface anisotropy will be investigated in superlattice and multilayer systems. A number of manganese-based and iron-based metastasble alloy systems will also be studied.
