We have studied experimentally and theoretically the interaction of polarized neutrons with magnetic thin films and magnetic multilayers. In particular, we have analyzed the behavior of the critical edges for total external reflection in both cases. For a single film we have observed experimentally and theoretically a simple behavior: the critical edges remain fixed and the intensity varies according to the angle between the polarization axis and

A generalized matrix method for the reflection and transmission of polarized and nonpolarized neutrons for multilayer systems with noncollinear magnetization of the neighboring layers is developed. The transmission and reflection of a particular system are calculated. Computation of the transmission, reflection and wave functions inside some layers shows that the generalized matrix method is less time consuming than the recurrence method.

We have carried out detailed experimental studies of the exchange bias effect of a series of CoO/Co(111) textured bilayers with different Co layer thickness, using the magneto-optical Kerr effect, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry, polarized neutron reflectivity, x-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy. All samples exhibit a pronounced asymmetry of the magnetic hysteresis at the first magnetization reversal as