Title :
The Role of Interfaces in CoFe/IrMn Exchange Biased Systems
Author :
Vallejo-Fernandez, G. ; Vopsaroiu, M. ; Fernandez-Outon, L.E. ; Grady, K.O.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Phys., York Univ.
Abstract :
A trilayer system consisting of an IrMn layer exchanged coupled to two CoFe layers of equal thickness has been studied. A single stage reversal was observed over a wide range of temperatures. Two bilayers with the same thicknesses of the pinning layer but different ferromagnetic thicknesses were also studied. By comparing the magnetic properties of these three stacks the effect of the interfacial area on the exchange field and the coercivity has been determined. We find that the interfacial area has a very minor effect on the exchange field Hex and the blocking temperature (TB) but causes a doubling of the coercivity (Hc). This indicates that Hc is dominated by the interface whereas the exchange bias is controlled by volumetric effects
Keywords :
cobalt alloys; coercive force; ferromagnetic materials; iridium alloys; iron alloys; magnetisation reversal; manganese alloys; CoFe-IrMn; blocking temperature; coercivity; exchange biased systems; exchange coupling; ferromagnetic thicknesses; interfacial area; pinning layer; single stage reversal; thermal activation; trilayer system; Antiferromagnetic materials; Coercive force; Magnetic properties; Noise measurement; Physics; Plasmas; Radio frequency; Sputtering; Temperature distribution; Vibration measurement; Exchange bias; interface; thermal activation;
Journal_Title :
Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TMAG.2006.879755
