Title :
The effect of microstructure and interface conditions on the anisotropic exchange fields of NiO/NiFe
Author :
Lai, Chih-Huang ; Anthony, Thomas C. ; Iwamura, Eiji ; White, Robert L.
Author_Institution :
Center for Res. on Inf. Storage Mater., Stanford Univ., CA, USA
fDate :
9/1/1996 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We have investigated the effect of microstructure and interface conditions on the anisotropic exchange fields of NiO/NiFe bilayers. The NiO films were deposited by dc magnetron reactive sputtering. By using different substrates or annealing NiO films, grain size and surface roughness of NiO can be manipulated. The exchange field is enhanced in the small-grained NiO and this enhancement is attributed to the formation of small domains in NiO. The degree of interfacial roughness and the existence of (111) texture showed no correlation with exchange field
Keywords :
annealing; exchange interactions (electron); grain size; interface magnetism; iron alloys; magnetic anisotropy; magnetic multilayers; nickel alloys; nickel compounds; sputtered coatings; DC magnetron reactive sputtering; NiO-NiFe; NiO/NiFe bilayer; anisotropic exchange field; annealing; domains; grain size; interfacial roughness; microstructure; texture; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Annealing; Grain size; Magnetic anisotropy; Magnetic domains; Microstructure; Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; Rough surfaces; Sputtering; Surface roughness;
Journal_Title :
Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on
