Recent advances in exchange bias of layered magnetic FM/AFM systems

The exchange bias (EB) has been investigated in magnetic materials with the ferromagnetic (FM)/antiferromagnetic (AFM) contacting interfaces for more than half a century. To date, the significant progress has been made in the layered magnetic FM/AFM thin film systems. EB mechanisms have shown substantive research advances. Here some of the new advances are introduced and discussed with the emphasis on the influence of AFM layer, the interlayer EB coupling across nonmagnetic spacer, and the interlayer coupling across AFM layer, as well as EB related to multiferrioc materials and electrical control.