Magnetization and polarized neutron reflectivity experiments on patterned exchange bias structures

Patterned Co/CoO thin film structures have been investigated by magnetization and polarized neutron reflectivity measurements in order to study the influence of finite size and shape anisotropy effects on the magnetization reversal. An anomaly was found in the upper branch of the hysteresis loops, probably caused by incomplete bias in the patterned structures. The asymmetry in magnetization reversal mechanism commonly found in the two branches of the hysteresis loops of unpatterned Co/CoO layers is altered in the patterned structures, consistent with the existence of interfacial domains.     

The influence of finite size and shape anisotropy on exchange bias: A study of patterned Co/CoO nanostructures

The influence of finite dimensions on the exchange bias effect in patterned polycrystalline Co/CoO ferromagnet/antiferromagnet exchange bias systems was studied. Magnetization measurements on the smallest structures reveal that the exchange bias shift increases as the structure size becomes smaller. Off-specular neutron scattering experiments were used to study the asymmetric magnetization reversal behaviour.     

Magnetization reversal in exchange biased Co/CoO patterns

The influence of patterning on exchange bias has been investigated using arrays of micron-sized Co/CoO dots with different lateral confinement and length-to-width ratio. The patterned samples show higher coercive and exchange bias fields than a continuous Co/CoO bilayer. As in unpatterned film, magnetization reversal mechanisms on opposite sides of the hysteresis loops of the microstructured samples are different. However, with the increase of lateral confinement and shape anisotropy of the dots, the asymmetry in the magnetization reversal starts to differ from that observed in continuous Co/CoO films.     

Positive domain wall resistance of 180 degrees Néel walls in Co thin films

We measured the intrinsic domain wall resistance (DWR) of 180 degrees Ne el walls in a polycrystalline Co thin film deposited on top of a patterned antiferromagnetic CoO template. After field cooling through the CoO blocking temperature, exchange bias induces a spatially modulated coercivity of the Co film, resulting in a periodic domain pattern with 180 degrees Ne el walls. The intrinsic DWR is determined unambiguously by using rotating magnetic fields that result in a reversible creation and annihilation of the Ne el walls. In contrast with earlier reports, the DWR is positive and in agreement with models based on the giant magnetoresistance mechanism. A reliable, quantitative determination of the DWR requires careful numerical evaluation of the anisotropic magnetoresistance effect.     

Microstructural and magnetic properties of passivated Co nanoparticle films

Co nanoparticle films were prepared by plasma–gas-condensation-type particle beam deposition system. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images show that the Co nanoparticles have a very narrow size distribution with an average diameter of 20 nm, and each of the Co nanoparticles is covered with an 3 nm layer of CoO. Hysteresis loops of the films after field-cooling in a 5 T magnetic field are greatly shifted, which can be attributed to the exchange bias effect caused by the interfacial exchange coupling between the CoO shell and the Co core. The zero field cooled films show several prominent properties, such as a quite large coercive field, a small remanence and their abnormal dependences on temperature. All these observations can be attributed to the existence of an exchange bias effect within each single Co nanoparticle even without a field-cooling process.     

High coercivity in large exchange-bias Co/CoO-MgO nano-granular films

We present a detailed study on the magnetic coercivity of Co/CoO-MgO core-shell systems, which exhibits a large exchange bias due to an increase of the uncompensated spin density at the interface between the CoO shell and the metallic Co core by replacing Co by Mg within the CoO shell. We find a large magnetic coercivity of 7120 Oe around the electrical percolation threshold of the Co/CoO core/shell particles, while samples with a smaller or larger Co metal volume fraction show a considerably smaller coercivity. Thus, this study may lead to a route to improving the magnetic properties of artificial magnetic material in view of potential applications.     

Structural and magnetic properties of ion-beam deposited NiFe/Co-oxide bilayers

The structural and magnetic properties of NiFe/Co-oxide bilayers were studied. XRD investigation indicates the NiFe (Permalloy) layers (a= 3.53 Å) grow with a (111) preferred orientation. The Co-oxide layers were fabricated with oxygen content in the deposition assist beam ranging from 8% (rock-salt CoO, a= 4.27 Å) to 34% (spinel Co3O4, a= 8.21 Å). Both the coercivity Hc and exchange bias field Hex closely follow an inverse NiFe thickness relationship. A strong temperature dependence of Hc and Hex is found in these NiFe/Co-oxide bilayers. At T= 289 K, the NiFe/CoO film exhibits an enhanced Hc relative to pure NiFe/Co or NiFe/Co3O4 bilayers, an indication of exchange coupling between the NiFe and CoO phases. At T= 10 K, the NiFe/Co3O4 film exhibits an exchange-bias loop shift of Hex∼- 200 Oe that persists to temperatures greater than 30 K (the Néel temperature of bulk Co3O4). The transition temperature of the Co3O4 film component has increased above the bulk value via exchange coupling with the permalloy. Results indicate that the exchange coupling interaction between FM and AFM layers are responsible for both enhanced coercivity and cross-tie domains.     

Structure and magnetism of Co:CoO core–shell nanoclusters

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron diffraction (ED) are used to investigate the nanostructures of two ensembles of Co:CoO core–shell particles. TEM images show that particles of size about 12 nm are almost fully oxidized, while particles with size about 18 nm have a core–shell structure where a Co core is surrounded by a shell of CoO. ED simulation confirms that the larger particles have an fcc-structured Co core and a rock-salt CoO shell structure, while the smaller particles mostly have the rock-salt CoO structure. The core–shell structure is responsible for the unusual magnetic properties of the Co:CoO nanoclusters, especially the occurrence of inverted hysteresis loops (proteresis), but previous research has been indirect, largely based on magnetic measurements and on a cross-comparison with granular materials. Our measurements show that the structures have ferromagnetic fcc Co cores of varying sizes down to 1 nm which are surrounded by antiferromagnetic rock-salt CoO shells. The core radii obtained from the TEM pictures are used to estimate the exchange interactions responsible for proteresis and to pinpoint the core-size window in which proteresis occurs.     

A study of the induced magnetism in the Au spacer layer of Co/Au/CoO exchange-bias trilayers and related systems

We report the first observation of the effects of exchange bias on the nuclear spin polarization and induced magnetic moments at a magnetic/non-magnetic interface, applying low temperature nuclear orientation (LTNO) to Co/Au(x)/CoO trilayer systems. This technique allows us to determine simultaneously the average alignment of the nuclear moments for the two radioactive probe isotopes 198Au and 60Co with respect to an external magnetic field axis. The total average Au γ-ray anisotropy measured was found (i) to decrease with increasing Au thickness, indicating that large hyperfine fields are restricted to the interfacial Au layers and (ii) to be canted away from the applied field axis even when the Co layers are magnetically saturated. This canting was found to originate at the CoO/Au interface as could be shown from comparative measurements on CoO/Au/CoO trilayers containing two AFM CoO/Au interfaces and on a Co/Au/Co trilayer with two FM Co/Au interfaces. In the case of CoO/Au/CoO, the observed canting was found to be dependent on the Au layer thickness.     

Tailoring exchange bias by oxidizing Co film across a Cu wedge in Cu(wedge)/CoO/Co/Cu(0 0 1)

A new method was developed to control Co film oxidation in an epitaxially grown Cu(wedge)/Co/Cu(0 0 1) film. By annealing the film at 200 °C within 10⁻⁶ Torr oxygen environment, we find that the top Cu wedge controls the Co underlayer oxidation continuously as a function of the Cu film thickness. Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect measurement shows that the exchange bias of the resulting CoO/Co film exhibits a systematic variation with the Cu thickness, thus offering a new method of tailoring the exchange bias of CoO/Co films.     

Manipulating the magnetic structure of Co core/CoO shell nanoparticles: implications for controlling the exchange bias

We present an experimental study of the effects of oxidation on the magnetic and crystal structures of exchange biased epsilon-Co/CoO core-shell nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy measurements reveal that oxidation creates a Co-CoO interface which is highly directional and epitaxial in quality. Neutron diffraction measurements find that below a Néel temperature TN of approximately 235 K the magnetization of the CoO shell is modulated by two wave vectors, q1=(1/2 1/2 1/2)2pi/a and q2=(100)2pi/a. Oxidation affects the q1 component of the magnetization very little, but hugely enhances the q2 component, resulting in the magnetic decompensation of the core-shell interface. We propose that the large exchange bias effect results from the highly ordered interface between the Co core and CoO shell, and from enhanced core-shell coupling by the uncompensated interface moment.     

Size dependence of exchange bias in Co/CoO nanostructures

In Co/CoO nanostructures, of dimensions l×3l, at small Co thickness (≈6,10 nm), a strong increase in the bias field and the associated coercive field are found as the nanostructure size is reduced from l=120 nm to l=30 nm. This property indicates that the characteristic length D(AF) within the antiferromagnet which governs exchange-bias effects is the nanostructure size. By contrast, at larger Co thickness (≈23 nm), the exchange-bias field does not depend on the nanostructure size, implying that D(AF) is smaller than the nanostructure size. The results are discussed in the framework of the Malozemoff model, taking into account that the coupling between CoO grains is weak. Exchange bias is dominated either by coupling within the antiferromagnetic layer (6- and 10-nm-thick Co samples) or by ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic interfacial coupling (23-nm-thick Co sample).     

Diluted antiferromagnets in exchange bias: proof of the domain state model

The exchange bias coupling at ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic interfaces in epitaxially grown Co/CoO layers can intentionally be increased by a factor of up to 3 if the antiferromagnetic CoO layer is diluted by nonmagnetic defects in its volume part away from the interface. Monte Carlo simulations of a simple model of a ferromagnetic layer on a diluted antiferromagnet show exchange bias and explain qualitatively its dilution and temperature dependence. These investigations reveal that diluting the antiferromagnet leads to the formation of volume domains, which cause and control exchange bias.     

On the possibility of detecting asymmetric magnetization reversal processes in exchange bias systems by low temperature nuclear orientation

Low temperature nuclear orientation has been used for the first time to investigate the magnetization reversal processes in an exchange bias system (Co/Au/CoO), with the advantage of observing both the Co and Au layers at the same time. By monitoring the counting-rate ratio of two γ-ray detectors, the measurements may be used to distinguish between reversal processes dominated by domain wall motion as opposed to rotation of the magnetization.     

Towards an Ab Initio Description of the Exchange Bias in Spin-Valve Systems

By considering collinear and non-collinear magnetic configurations, the interlayer exchange energy can be viewed as a continuous energy parameter k that can directly be correlated with the magnetoresistance. It was shown [Weinberger, P. (2002). Exchange bias due to configurational magnetic rearrangements. Phys . Rev . B , 65 , 014430] for the spin-valve system Co(111)/Co 6 /(CoO) n /Co 6 /Cu 6 /Co 6 /Co(111), n = 6,12, that the exchange bias refers to that value of k below which the magnetoresistance remains zero. Above this value a gradual change in the magnetoresistance is observed when considering non-collinear magnetic configurations.     

Enhancing exchange bias with diluted antiferromagnets

The exchange bias H(E) of coupled polycrystalline films of antiferromagnetic CoO and ferromagnetic Co was significantly enhanced by the systematic substitution of nonmagnetic Mg for Co in CoO. Samples in which either Co or Co(1-x)Mg(x)O were deposited first were investigated at temperatures from 10 to 300 K. With Co(1-x)Mg(x)O on the bottom, the increased interfacial uncompensated spin density of the single antiferromagnetic domain Co(1x)Mg(x)O crystallites produced the enhanced H(E). With Co on the bottom, a thin interfacial oxide layer was primarily responsible for the strongly increased H(E).     

Influence of magnetocrystalline anisotropy on the magnetization reversal mechanism in exchange bias Co/CoO bilayers

We investigated the reversal mechanism in a Co/CoO exchange bias bilayer with a pronounced magnetocrystalline anisotropy in the ferromagnet. The anisotropy, which is induced by the growth of a highly textured Co layer, imposes a distinct reversal mechanism along the magnetically easy and hard direction. It is shown that exchange bias can be induced along both directions, despite the magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The interplay between the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and exchange bias induces a different reversal mechanism for the subsequent reversals in the two crystallographic directions. Along the hard axis, the magnetization reverses according to the reversal mechanism observed before in polycrystalline exchange bias bilayers, i.e. domain wall nucleation and motion for the first reversal and coherent rotation for the subsequent ones. Along the easy axis, domain wall motion remains the dominant reversal mechanism and magnetization rotation has only a minor contribution.     

Experimental magnetic study and evidence of the exchange bias effect in unidimensional Co arrays produced by interference lithography

A simple process for fabricating submicrometric magnetic arrays employing interference lithography, sputtering deposition and lift-off processes is proposed and demonstrated. The magnetic properties of cobalt (Co) arrays were measured and compared with those of a continuous Co magnetic film. The results show a dependence of the hysteresis curve on the orientation of the field as regards the array, which is correlated with the anisotropy of the structures and a dependence of the coercive field on the periodicity of the arrays. Moreover, an exchange bias effect was observed, which is ascribed to a ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic (FM/AFM) coupling between Co and a thin surface cobalt oxide (CoO) layer.     

Effect of field cooling on magnetic properties of ultrafine CoO/Co particles

In CoO-Ag granular films with small CoO contents, we have observed ultrafine Co particles inside or on the surface of the CoO particles. After field cooling under the external magnetic field of 50 kOe, a sustained magnetization (or vertical) shift and exchange field shift were observed. The magnetization shift and the exchange field shift increased as the cooling field is increased and temperature decreased, in correlation to each other. PACS 75.30.Et; 75.30.Gw; 75.75.+a     

Exchange coupling in CoO–Co bilayer

In this work, exchange bias and coercivity enhancement in ferromagnet (FM)–antiferromagnet (AFM) bilayer have been investigated. CoO film (50 nm) was deposited by sputtering with a relatively high oxygen partial pressure. The deposited films were subsequently annealed at varied temperature up to 973 K in the air atmosphere. The CoO film shows a disordered structure in the as-deposited state and an increase of crystallinity after annealing characterized by XRD and Raman spectra. A 40-nm Co film was deposited on the as-deposited CoO and annealed films. The Co–CoO bilayer shows a large exchange bias up to 1600 Oe and relatively high coercivity up to 3200 Oe (H_C−) at 5 K, which is much larger than that of crystalline Co–CoO bilayer films without any treatment. The spin glass behavior combined with increasing crystallinity, surface roughness of CoO after annealing may be attributed to the large exchange bias and high coercivity.