Hysteretic behavior of angular dependence of exchange bias in FeNi/FeMn bilayers

Complex Study of Magnetization Reversal Mechanisms of FeNi/FeMn Bilayers Depending on Growth Conditions

Magnetization reversal processes in the NiFe/FeMn exchange biased structures with various antiferromagnetic layer thicknesses (0–50 nm) and glass substrate temperatures (17–600 °C) during deposition were investigated in detail. Magnetic measurements were performed in the temperature range from 80 K up to 300 K. Hysteresis loop asymmetry was found at temperatures lower than 150 K for the samples with an antiferromagnetic layer thickness of more than 10 nm. The average grain size of FeMn was found to increase with the AFM layer increase, and to decrease with the substrate temperature increase. Hysteresis loop asymmetry was explained in terms of the exchange spring model in the antiferromagnetic layer.

How to manipulate magnetic states of antiferromagnets

Antiferromagnetic materials, which have drawn considerable attention recently, have fascinating features: they are robust against perturbation, produce no stray fields, and exhibit ultrafast dynamics. Discerning how to efficiently manipulate the magnetic state of an antiferromagnet is key to the development of antiferromagnetic spintronics. In this review, we introduce four main methods (magnetic, strain, electrical, and optical) to mediate the magnetic states and elaborate on intrinsic origins of different antiferromagnetic materials. Magnetic control includes a strong magnetic field, exchange bias, and field cooling, which are traditional and basic. Strain control involves the magnetic anisotropy effect or metamagnetic transition. Electrical control can be divided into two parts, electric field and electric current, both of which are convenient for practical applications. Optical control includes thermal and electronic excitation, an inertia-driven mechanism, and terahertz laser control, with the potential for ultrafast antiferromagnetic manipulation. This review sheds light on effective usage of antiferromagnets and provides a new perspective on antiferromagnetic spintronics.

Anomalous Hall-like effect probe of antiferromagnetic domain wall

Of crucial importance to antiferromagnetic (AF) spintronic devices, AF domain wall (AFDW), created in exchange biased Y₃Fe₅O₁₂/Ni_0.50Co_0.50O (NiCoO)/Pt, is characterized by anomalous Hall-like effect through magnetic proximity effect and spin Hall magnetoresistance at NiCoO/Pt interface. The AFDW thickness, in the order of nanometers, has been for the first time proved in experiments to increase with increasing temperature. AF spins within AFDW show the same chirality in decent and ascent branches of ferromagnetic magnetization reversal process. Moreover, the uncompensated magnetic moment at the NiCoO/Pt interface is of perpendicular magnetization anisotropy and changes linearly in magnitude with temperature due to the reduced coordination of the magnetic atoms on the AF surface. This work will help to clarify the mechanism of the spin current propagation in AF materials and fully understand the physics behind exchange bias.

Electric-Field Induced Reversible Switching of the Magnetic Easy Axis in Co/BiFeO3 on SrTiO3

Electric-field (E-field) control of magnetism enabled by multiferroic materials has the potential to revolutionize the landscape of present memory devices plagued with high energy dissipation. To date, this E-field controlled multiferroic scheme has only been demonstrated at room temperature using BiFeO₃ films grown on DyScO₃, a unique and expensive substrate, which gives rise to a particular ferroelectric domain pattern in BiFeO₃. Here, we demonstrate reversible electric-field-induced switching of the magnetic state of the Co layer in Co/BiFeO₃ (BFO) (001) thin film heterostructures fabricated on (001) SrTiO₃ (STO) substrates. The angular dependence of the coercivity and the remanent magnetization of the Co layer indicates that its easy axis reversibly switches back and forth 45° between the (100) and the (110) crystallographic directions of STO as a result of alternating application of positive and negative voltage pulses between the patterned top Co electrode layer and the (001) SrRuO₃ (SRO) layer on which the ferroelectric BFO is epitaxially grown. The coercivity (H_C) of the Co layer exhibits a hysteretic behavior between two states as a function of voltage. A mechanism based on the intrinsic magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroic BFO involving projection of antiferromagnetic G-type domains is used to explain the observation. We have also measured the exact canting angle of the G-type domain in strained BFO films for the first time using neutron diffraction. These results suggest a pathway to integrating BFO-based devices on Si wafers for implementing low power consumption and nonvolatile magnetoelectronic devices.

Detection of the dynamic magnetic behavior of the antiferromagnet in exchange-coupled NiFe/IrMn bilayers

The magnetothermal behavior of antiferromagnetic IrMn layers of different thickness (3, 6, 10 nm) has been studied by exploiting the exchange coupling with a ferromagnetic 5 nm-thick NiFe layer. A procedure has been devised for the measurement of the magnetization of the NiFe/IrMn bilayers as a function of temperature and time at different values of an external magnetic field, Hinv, antiparallel to the unidirectional exchange anisotropy. This analysis allows one to probe the effective distribution of anisotropy energy barriers of the antiferromagnetic phase, as sensed by the ferromagnetic layer. Two magnetic regimes have been distinguished. At temperature T < 100 K, the interfacial IrMn spins are frozen in a glassy state and are collectively involved in the exchange coupling with the NiFe spins. At T ∼ 100 K the collective state breaks up; thus, above this temperature, only the interfacial IrMn spins which are tightly polarized by the IrMn nanograins, forming the bulk of the layer, are effectively involved in the exchange coupling mechanism. Due to that, for T > 100 K the exchange coupling is ruled by the anisotropy energy barriers of the bulk IrMn nanograins, namely by the layer thickness. The thermal evolution of the exchange field and of the coercivity in the three samples is coherently explained in the framework of this description of the dynamic magnetic behavior of the IrMn phase.

Rotation of the pinning direction in the exchange bias training effect in polycrystalline NiFe/FeMn bilayers

For polycrystalline NiFe/FeMn bilayers, we have observed and quantified the rotation of the pinning direction in the exchange bias training and recovery effects. During consecutive hysteresis loops, the rotation of the pinning direction strongly depends on the magnetization reversal mechanism of the ferromagnet layer. The interfacial uncompensated magnetic moment of antiferromagnetic grains may be irreversibly switched and rotated when the magnetization reversal process of the ferromagnet layer is accompanied by domain wall motion and domain rotation, respectively.