Numerical simulation of magnetization process in antiferromagnetic–ferromagnetic bilayer with compensated interface

The properties of antiferromagnetic (AFM)–ferromagnetic (FM) bilayer have been studied using self-consistent mean-field approximation for Heisenberg Hamiltonian. The perpendicular exchange coupling has been revealed in a bilayer with a compensated interface. For a uniform AFM film a symmetrical hysteresis loop has been calculated, because the transverse instability develops within the AFM film at certain critical value of external magnetic field. On the other hand, shifted hysteresis loop with a finite exchange bias field has been obtained for a non-uniform AFM film consisting of various AFM domains with perpendicular directions of the easy anisotropy axes.     

Analysis of exchange bias effect of NiO+NiFe2O4 composites

Exchange bias (EB) and magnetic properties of ferrimagnetic (FI) NiFe₂O₄ and antiferromagnetic (AFM) NiO bulk composites, prepared by a chemical co-precipitation and post-thermal decomposition method from Fe-doped NiO matrix, have been investigated. Enhanced coercivities and shifted hysteresis loops are still observed for these samples after field cooling. But the vertical magnetization shifts are not observed. In comparison with the bulk samples, a NiO/10% NiFe₂O₄ nanocomposite was also prepared via direct mixture, in which both the horizontal and vertical shift in the hysteresis loops are observed at 10 K. The observed phenomena are explained in terms of interfacial exchange interaction between the two phases and the finite-size effect, respectively.     

Phase segregation and exchange biasing in TbFeCo films with perpendicular anisotropy

A TbFeCo film was deposited by DC magnetron sputtering and studied by transmission electron microscopy, polar and longitudinal magneto-optical Kerr effect, and magnetometry measurements. Transmission electron microscopy has shown the existence of lateral compositional inhomogeneity. Magneto-optical measurements have shown that the initial layer at the bottom consists of only magnetic perpendicular component and the top surface layer has a compositional inhomogeneity and consists of in-plane components and perpendicular one. The perpendicular components in the bottom and the surface layers have identical composition. Two in-plane components have been shown by magnetometry measurements. It is shown that phase segregation exists in the TbFeCo film and possible form of compositional inhomogeneity has been discussed. The two in-plane components are exchange coupled with a magnetization off-alignment of 35°. For the soft in-plane component, the in-plane and out-of-plane angular dependence of the exchange biasing is similar to those of the conventional one. Within temperatures from 100 to 300 K, the exchange field and the coercivity are both linear functions of temperature.     

Measurement of the coupling strength distribution in ferromagnetic (F)/antiferromagnetic (AF) exchange bias systems

We propose a method for determination of the distribution function P(j) of the coupling energy density j in polycrystalline textured ferromagnetic (F)/antiferromagnetic (AF) film systems. P(j) governs the entire film coupling J and the exchange bias field H_e and was not measurable until now. The method is verified by torquemetry in a high magnetic field and by reversing its rotation sense. The transition to a new magnetic steady state after rotation reversal is analyzed within a Stoner–Wohlfarth model including thermal relaxation. This transition is completed earlier for strongly coupled grains than for grains with smaller j, which is reflected in the torque curves. We determined P(j) for a sputtered NiFe(16 nm)/IrMn(0.8 nm) film at T=50 K in the hysteretic range of coupling energies and found that P strongly decreases for increasing j.     

Photo-induced bias of the hysteresis loop in ferrites at room temperature with long-time memory

New photo-magnetic effects with an indefinitely long-time memory are found at room temperature in the epitaxial Mg_0.75Mn_0.21Co_0.04Fe₂O₄ ferrite film. Illumination of the ferrimagnetic material with low-intensity (0.4 W cm⁻²) circularly polarized light with or without a static magnetic field in the Faraday effect geometry results in a number of nonlinear effects in both space and time. In a uniform crystal with cubic symmetry, the long-lived photo-induced magnetization (PIM) with a unidirectional anisotropy appears along the direction of the incoming light. The effects depend on a combination of magnetic field H and the helicity of circularly polarized light σ. Two combinations H⁺,σ⁺ and H⁻,σ⁻ lead to a photo-induced unidirectional anisotropy with a shift of the hysteresis loop along an applied field and a change in loop parameters. The loop contracts by a factor of two, the shift of the mid-point H_sh increases by factor of five surpassing the coercivity H_c, the coercivity H_c1 and remanence M_r1 (for decreasing applied field) reverse the sign, increasing by 9 Oe and reducing by a factor of 4.5, respectively. The effects cannot be erased by a conventional demagnetization (using an AC current that is reduced to zero amplitude), but can be removed using an illumination with two other combinations (H⁺,σ⁻ and H⁻,σ⁺) as well as by heating at temperatures higher than the Curie temperature. This long-lived room-temperature memory effect may arise from the formation of complex photo-induced defects including photo-induced magnetic polarons. The possible mechanisms responsible for the appearance of a room-temperature photo-induced unidirectional anisotropy with a long-lived memory are discussed. These new photo-magnetic effects may find an application in magneto-optical memory devices.     

Magnetic properties and structure of FePt/FeMn multilayers

A systematic study of the magnetic properties by ion beam sputter-deposition system, was conducted in conjunction with the structure of FePt/FeMn multilayers fabricated onto MgO(0 0 1) substrates. Both parallel and perpendicular exchange biases were observed in the multilayers and were found to decrease drastically, as the deposition temperature is higher than 350 °C, which is evidently due to the interdiffusion at the interface. The thickness dependence study shows that the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy observed in the multilayers originates from surface anisotropy, being consistent with the decrease of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy as the deposition temperature is increased. The difference between parallel and perpendicular blocking temperatures that was clearly observed, is possibly due to the spin canting out of plane at the interface.     

Phase-Transition and Magnetic Moment of the Gd3+ Ion in the Gd2Fe17 Compound

The structure and magnetic phase transitions of the Gd2Fe17 compound are investigated by using a differential thermal/thermogravimetric analyzer, x-ray diffraction, and magnetization measurements. The result shows that there are two phase structures for the Gd2Fe17 compound： the hexagonal Th2Nilr-type structure at high temperatures （above 1243℃）, and the rhombohedral Th2Zn17-type structure, respectively. A method to measure the magnetic moments of the Gd-sublattice and the Fe-sublattice in the Gd2Fe17 compound is presented. The moments of the Gd-sublattice and the Fe-sublattice in the Gd2Fe17 compound from 77 to 500 K are measured in this way with a vibrating sample magnetometer. A detailed discussion is presented.     

Structural and Magnetic Properties of [Fe/Ni]N Multilayers

[Fe/Ni]N multilayered structure grows epitaxially on the single crystalline MgO substrate. Due to the different directions of magnetic easy axes of Fe and Ni and the strong strain, large anisotropy dispersion is assumed. According to the layer model, the magnetization of Fe and Ni layers cannot follow each easy axis because of exchange coupling, and then the anisotropies are averaged out. The reduction of the effective anisotropy enhances with the decrease of periodic thickness. Thus, the coercivity of [Fe/Ni]N multilayers reduces with decreasing periodic thickness.     

Asymmetric Magnetization Reversal Probed by Recoil Loop Measurements inan Exchange Biased La0.67Sr0.33MnO3/La0.33Ca0.67MnO3 Bilayer Film

We exploit the recoil loop measurements to study La0.07 Sr0.33 Mn O3/La0.33 Ca0.67 Mn O3 bilayer film. the asymmetric magnetization reversal in an exchange-biased It is found that the recoil curve encloses a marked area only in the second quadrant of the hysteresis loop, and the recoil susceptibility in the descending branch of the major loop is evidently higher than that in the ascending branch. The study indicates that the exchange anisotropy of a unidirectional nature and an orientation deviated from the easy axis of the ferromagnetic layer plays a crucial role in creating the reversal asymmetry.     

Influence of partial rare-earth substitution for Sm in the giant intrinsic magnetic hardness compound SmCo2Ni3

The phenomenon of giant intrinsic magnetic hardness is investigated in compounds R_1−x Sm _x Co₂Ni₃ with R=Y, Pr, Gd, Tb, Er. Partial Er substitution for Sm actually increases magnetic hardness while all other substitutions decrease magnetic hardness. The strength of coercivity is thus dependent on both the sign and magnitude of the crystal field interaction. The temperature dependence of coercivity is complex in the case of Pr substitution as a result of competing effects from thermal activation and a decrease in anisotropy at low temperatures. This study has been supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.     

Properties of the roughness in NiFe/FeMn exchange-biased system

X-ray reflectivity and atomic force microscopy analyses were performed in the Si/WTi (7 nm)/NiFe (5 nm)/FeMn (13 nm)/WTi (7 nm) exchange-biased system prepared by magnetron sputtering. Layer-by-layer analyses were done in order to have interfacial roughness parameters quantitatively. X-ray reflectivity results indicate that the successive layer deposition gives rise to a cumulative roughness. In addition, the atomic force microscopic images analyses have revealed that the roughness enhancement caused by the successive layer deposition can be associated with an appearance of a longer wavelength roughness induced by the NiFe layer deposition.     

Antiferromagnet IrMn thickness dependence in exchange-biased perpendicular magnetic anisotropy based on CoFe/Pt/CoFe/[IrMn(tIrMn)] multilayers

The effect of the antiferromagnetic IrMn thickness upon the magnetic properties of CoFe/Pt/CoFe/[IrMn(t_IrMn)] multilayers is studied. An oscillatory interlayer coupling (IEC) has been shown in pinned CoFe/Pt(t_Pt)/CoFe/IrMn multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy. The period of oscillation corresponds to about 2 monolayers of Pt. The oscillatory behavior of IEC depends on the nonmagnetic metallic Pt thickness and is thought to be related to the antiferromagnetic ordering induced by the IrMn layer. From the extraordinary Hall voltage amplitude (EHA) curves as function of IrMn thickness, we report that the oscillation dependence of IEC for the [CoFe/Pt/CoFe] multilayer system induced by IrMn with spacer-layer thickness is a important features of perpendicular exchange biased system.     

Dependence of the driving current on the harmonic behavior of giant magneto-impedance voltage of Co-based amorphous wires

The frequency and the amplitude of the driving AC current dependence on the harmonic behavior of the giant magneto-impedance (GMI) voltage of Co-rich amorphous wire have been studied. Single-peak, two-peak and three-peak behavior in the GMI characteristics was studied with the change of amplitude and frequency of the AC current. GMI ratio was calculated from the first harmonic signals which were initially increased and then decreased monotonically with the increase of frequency (f) and the amplitude (I_AC) of the driving current. The response of the GMI voltage was found non-linear with the generation of higher harmonics at higher amplitude of the driving current. The second and third harmonic signals were also evaluated and their dependence on the driving current amplitude and frequency were presented in the paper. The experimental results were analyzed using single domain rotational model. The voltage harmonics were calculated through Fourier transform of the time derivative of the estimated circular magnetization of the sample.     

Magnetic properties of Nd–Fe–B film magnets prepared by RF sputtering

Highly oriented films of ∼6 μm in thickness consisting of the Nd₂Fe₁₄B compound phase were obtained by a three-dimensional sputtering method at room temperature and the subsequent crystallization by annealing. The c-axis orientation and coercivity of film samples were sensitive to the sputtering parameters and annealing conditions. The optimum temperature and time for annealing were 650 °C and 30 min to show the highest coercivity without any deterioration for the orientation of Nd₂Fe₁₄B grains, and furthermore the degree of c-axis orientation was increased by decreasing the Ar gas pressure or input power for sputtering. The resultant film magnets with good magnetic properties of B_r=∼1.06 T, H_C=∼371 kA/m, and (BH)_max=∼160 kJ/m³ were obtained under the optimized parameters for sputtering.     

On the field dependence of the interface energy in AF/FM bilayers

In the investigations of antiferromagnetic (AF)/ferromagnetic (FM) bilayer samples, often distinct experimental techniques yield different values for the measured exchange anisotropy field (H_E). We propose that the observed discrepancy may be accounted in part by the dependence of the unidirectional anisotropy with the value of the externally applied cooling field (h). Using a simple microscopic model for representing the AF/FM interface, which incorporates the effect of interface roughness, we show that the interface energy between the AF and FM layer indeed varies with h, as recently observed in anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements, lending support to our proposal.