ab initio calculations have been performed on several ultrathin Fe/Cr/Fe trilayer systems in ferromagnetic configuration, with a fixed thickness of the spacer chromium slab of three atomic monolayers, and both iron slabs symmetrically varying in range from 1 to 6 atomic monolayers. We have calculated the magnetic structure of these trilayers, their charge distribution, and the composition of their density of states at the Fermi energy, with respect to every monolayer and to every orbital. In the spatial charge distribution, we have identified Friedel-like oscillations in the Fe slabs. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.