Synthesis of rare earth films and superlattices.

The development of the metal molecular beam epitaxy technique has led to synthesis of single crystal rare earth superlattices composed of alternating magnetic rare earths (Gd, Dy) and their nonmagnetic analog Y. Long range, coherent magnetic structures modulated by the superlattice wavelengths were demonstrated for the first time in the synthetic superlattices. These include ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and helical order. This article reviews the state of art growth techniques, structural characteristics, and magnetic order.