Comment on “Thickness dependence of exchange bias and coercivity in a ferromagnetic layer coupled with an antiferromagnetic layer” [J. Appl. Phys. 94, 2529 (2003)]

Hu, Jin, and Ma have proposed a theoretical investigation on the influence of the antiferromagnetic layer thickness on the magnetic properties of ferromagnetic/ antiferromagnetic bilayers [J. Appl. Phys. 94, 2529 (2003)], considering both the bilinear and biquadratic exchange couplings, and have claimed that from their formulas for the hysteresis loop displacement and coercivity many interesting conclusions can be extracted. Unfortunately, the mathematical procedure used to find the equilibrium of the system is based on inadequate stability conditions and has led to nonphysical results. More importantly, the simple phenomenological model, employed by the authors, is intrinsically not capable to give the antiferromagnetic layer thickness dependence of the magnetic properties of such exchange-coupled bilayers

Edge atoms effects on the perpendicular anisotropy of ultrathin magnetic layers

The present work reports experimental and theoretical results for electrodeposited Co/Au(111) ultrathin layers with very specific magnetic behavior. We show that the observed two peaks in the out-of-plane magnetization versus deposition time variation could be explained by the remarkably high perpendicular anisotropy of the perimeter atoms of low- dimensional islands formed during the layer-by-layer growth, as compared to that of the surface atoms. Our results indicate that it is possible to sustain high anisotropy in very small grains without coming across the superparamagnetic limit, opening excellent opportunities for materials engineering

Tuning the antiferromagnetic easy axis direction in exchange bias bilayers

Abstract The exchange bias effect is measured for a Co/NiO bilayer before and after it has been cooled down from 580 K in 1.5 kOe magnetic field applied at 45 to the initial exchange-bias direction. The angular variation of the hysteresis loop shift for the treated sample showed three distinct minima and maxima, in contrast to that of the as-made sample, which is characteristic for a system with aligned ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic easy axes. This behavior is qualitatively well explained in the framework of the domain-wall formation model applied for the off-aligned case. The continued interest in the exchange-bias effect, which results from the interfacial coupling between ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AF) materials, is motivated by fundamental and technological interests. In almost all of the model works, the direction of the easy axis of the AF layer is aligned with the FM one; some numerical calculations using a simple StonerWohlfarth model for the case of ''off-aligned'' coupling have been done by Xi and White In the present work, a FM/AF bilayer was deposited by magnetron sputtering onto Si(1 0 0) substrate at room temperature (RT) in 2.0 mTorr Ar atmosphere with base pressure before depositing better than 5 Â 10 À8 Torr. The film consists of 30 nm Co deposited on 50 nm NiO and capped with 5 nm Cu in order to prevent oxidation in air. Magnetic field of 0.5 kOe has been applied during the deposition. The structural characterization, made via conventional X-ray diffractometry performed on a Philips X'Pert MRD machine employing Cu Ka radiation, showed that the Co layer is strongly (2 2 0) textured, whereas the NiO contribution is a combination of evenly divided (1 1 1) and (2 0 0) NiO textures. In-plane RT hysteresis loops were obtained by using an alternating gradient force magnetometer. No training effect, i.e., dependence of the hysteresis loop field shift, H eb ; on repeated magnetization reversal, has been observed. The sample was heated to 580 K, which is higher than the NiO N! eel temperature of 520 K but rather lower than the Curie temperature of Co, and then cooled down to RT in the presence of a magnetic field of 1.5 kOe applied at 45 (75) to the initial exchange-bias direction. Once again, effects of training have not been detected

Interdependence between training and magnetization reversal in granular Co-CoO exchange bias systems

The interdependence between training and magnetization reversal in granular Co-CoO exchange bias (EB) systems prepared byOion implantation inCo thin films is demonstrated by polarized neutron reflectometry. While high-fluence O-implanted thin films show reduced relative training values and no asymmetry in magnetization reversal (all reversals take place by domain wall nucleation and motion), low-fluence O ion implantation results in an increased relative training and a magnetization reversal asymmetry between the first descending and the first ascending branches. Whereas the untrained decreasing field reversal occurs mainly by domain wall nucleation and motion, traces of a domain rotation contribution are evidenced in the increasing field reversal. This is explained by the evolution of the CoO structure and the contribution of the out-of-plane magnetization with ion implantation. The amount of incorporated O, which determines the threshold between both behaviors, is around 20 at.%. This reveals that the interdependence between training and magnetization reversal is insensitive to the morphology of the constituents (i.e., granular or layered), indicating that this is an intrinsic EB effect, which can be conveniently tailored by the interplay between the intrinsic properties of the investigated materials and ion implantation

Exchange-bias and magnetic anisotropy fields in core–shell ferrite nanoparticles

Exchange bias properties of MnFe2O4@γ–Fe2O3 core–shell nanoparticles are investigated. The measured field and temperature dependencies of the magnetization point out a well-ordered ferrimagnetic core surrounded by a layer with spin glass-like arrangement. Quasi-static SQUID magnetization measurements are presented along with high-amplitude pulse ones and are cross-analyzed by comparison against ferromagnetic resonance experiments at 9 GHz. These measurements allow one to discern three types of magnetic anisotropies affecting the dynamics of the magnetic moment of the well-ordered ferrimagnetic NP’s core viz. the easy-axis (uniaxial) anisotropy, the unidirectional exchange-bias anisotropy and the rotatable anisotropy. The uniaxial anisotropy originates from the structural core–shell interface. The unidirectional exchange-bias anisotropy is associated with the spin-coupling at the ferrimagnetic/spin glass-like interface; it is observable only at low temperatures after a field-cooling process. The rotatable anisotropy is caused by partially-pinned spins at the core/shell interface; it manifests itself as an intrinsic field always parallel to the external applied magnetic field. The whole set of experimental results is interpreted in the framework of superparamagnetic theory, i.e., essentially taking into account the effect of thermal fluctuations on the magnetic moment of the particle core. In particular, it is found that the rotatable anisotropy of our system is of a uniaxial type. © 2021, The Author(s)

The magnetization of epitaxial nanometric CoFe2O4(001) layers

We have studied the magnetic anisotropy of nanometric CoFe2O4 (CFO) thin films grown on (100) SrTiO3 (STO) substrates. It has been found that epitaxial substrate-induced compressive strain makes the normal-to-film axis harder than the in-plane directions. In agreement with some previous reports, the magnetization loops are found to display a characteristic shrinking at low fields. Detailed structural and microstructural analyses, together with a modeling of the magnetization loops, revealed that the microstructure of the films, namely, the coexistence of a continuous CFO and a distribution of pyramidal CFO huts emerging from the surface, are responsible for this peculiar feature. We argue that this behavior, which significantly impacts the magnetic properties, could be a general trend of spinel films grow on (001) STO substrates

Multi-state perpendicular remanence in Co/Pd multilayers

Abstract Co/Pd multilayers deposited on Si (1 1 1) by electron gun evaporation were investigated. The magnetization measurements indicated out-of-plane easy magnetization direction for the samples with small Co layer thickness. The normal-tothe-plane remanent magnetization curves of the sample with Co layer thickness of 4 A s show four well-de"ned levels depending on the "eld strength and direction. Each of these levels can be obtained by applying a broad range of "elds making them easily accessible, and the high "eld remanence levels are lower in intensity than the low "eld ones. This seems to be an e!ect of competing magnetic anisotropies of di!erent nature present in the samples. The coercive and switching "elds, the remanence and all others technological requirements may eventually be tailored for a proper high-density recording media