The effects of Co-metal clusters on exchange bias for Co-doped NiO/FeNi bilayers

Co-doped NiO inhomogeneous films were synthesized by sputtering metallic Co chips and NiO together and the exchange bias of bilayers Co-doped NiO/FeNi was investigated. When Co content was up to 25.2%, the exchange bias field H_E at the room temperature increased to the maximum which was about three times compared to the undoped-bilayers. With further increase of Co content, the exchange bias field H_E and blocking temperature T_B decreased. Analysis suggests that the configuration of nanometer-sized Co-metal clusters enchased into NiO matrix played an important role in the change of magnetic behavior for the bilayers.     

铁磁/反铁磁双层膜中冷却场对交换偏置场的影响

用铁磁畴壁模型研究了非补偿界面铁磁/反铁磁双层膜中冷却场（包括大小及其方向）对交换偏置场h_E的影响.结果表明：当冷却场的方向与反铁磁层磁易轴一致时,h_E大小与冷却场大小无关.当冷却场的方向偏离磁易轴时,h_E的大小随偏离角度的增大有缓慢的改变,但当冷却场的方向偏离到临界角度γ_c处,h_E的大小发生突变,其γ_c的大小随冷却场的增大而增大.特别是当冷却场的偏离角度大于γ_c后,h_E出现由负转正的现象,其转变点还与冷却场的大小有关.另外,h_E与铁磁层原子层数N_F的关系会发生由h_E∝N^-1_F向h_E∝N^-λ_F的转变,其中λ>1.其发生转变的条件与N_F、冷却场大小和方向密切相关. 关键词： 铁磁/反铁磁双层膜 交换偏置 冷却场     

Temperature dependent exchange bias effect in polycrystalline BiFeO3/FM (FM = NiFe, Co) bilayers

Extensive studies on the temperature (T) dependent exchange bias effect were carried out in polycrystalline BiFeO₃(BFO)/NiFe and BFO/Co bilayers. In contrast to single-crystalline BFO/ferromagnet (FM) bilayers, sharp increase of the exchange bias field (H _E ) below 50 K were clearly observed in both of these two bilayers. However, when T is higher than 50 K, H _E increases with T and decreases further when T is larger than 230 K (for BFO/NiFe) or 200 K (for BFO/Co), which is similar to those reported in single-crystalline BFO/FM bilayers. After the exploration of magnetic field cooling, the temperature dependent exchange bias can be explained considering two contributions from both the interfacial spin-glass-like frustrated spins and the polycrystalline grains in the BFO layer. Moreover, obvious exchange bias training effect can be observed at both 5 K and room temperature and the corresponding results can be well fitted based on a recently proposed theoretical model taking into account the energy dissipation of the AFM layer.     

交换偏置双层膜中的反铁磁自旋结构及其交换各向异性

研究了交换偏置双层膜中界面存在二次以及双二次交换耦合下反铁磁磁矩转动及其交换各向异性.结果表明，其反铁磁膜中的磁矩转动存在可逆“恢复行为”、不可逆“半转动行为”、不可逆“倒转行为”以及不可逆“半倒转行为”四种情形，四种情形的出现强烈地依赖于界面二次、双二次耦合以及反铁磁膜厚度.其中可逆恢复行为情况下，系统出现交换偏置，而不可逆的半转、半倒转以及倒转情形，系统不出现交换偏置.特别地,在界面处仅存在双二次耦合的情形下，其界面双二次耦合常数J₂≤0.1 σ关键词： 反铁磁自旋结构 交换各向异性 界面双二次耦合 交换偏置     

Thickness dependence of positive exchange bias in ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic bilayers

For the ferromagnetic (FM)/antiferromagnetic (AFM) bilayers, both negative and positive exchange bias H_E have been observed for low and high cooling field H_CF, respectively. The thickness dependence of H_E and coercivity H_C have been investigated for the cases of negative and positive H_E. It is found that the negative H_E and the positive one have similar FM thickness dependence that is attributed to the interfacial nature of exchange bias. However, the AFM thickness dependence of positive H_E is completely contrary to that of the negative one, which clearly demonstrates that the AFM spins play different roles for the cases of positive and negative H_E. In particular, the AFM thickness of positive H_E was first highlighted by an AFM spin canting model. These results should be attributed to the interfacial spin configuration after field cooling procedure.     

(Ni0.81Fe0.19)1－xCrx作为种子层对NiFe/PtMn双层膜交换偏置的影响

将NiFe/PtMn双层膜生长在(Ni_0.81Fe_0.19)_1-xCr_x种子层材料上，通过改变种子层中Cr的原子含量，系统的研究了NiFe/PtMn双层膜中PtMn晶粒尺寸和织构对交换偏置的影响.对退火270℃，5h后的NiFe/PtMn双层膜磁性的研究表明,PtMn织构强弱对交换偏置场的影响不明显，而PtMn的晶粒尺寸是影响交换偏置场的主要因素，PtMn颗粒的相干长度在11.3nm左右时得到了较大的交换偏置场. 关键词： NiFe/PtMn双层膜 交换偏置场     

Nonlinear reconfiguration of vortexlike domain walls in magnetically uniaxial films under the action of an external field normal to the easy magnetic axis

The effect of external magnetic field H normal to the anisotropy axis on the energy and configuration of vortexlike asymmetric magnetic walls in a magnetically uniaxial film with an easy magnetic axis parallel to its surface is studied. The investigation is based on minimizing the energy functional of the film with due regard to exchange energy, magnetic anisotropy energy, magnetostatic energy, and Zeeman energy. The range of H below the anisotropy field is found where the asymmetric Néel wall is stable, unlike the case H = 0, when the asymmetric Bloch wall is stable. It is shown that an asymmetric Bloch wall becomes absolutely unstable and reconfigures into an asymmetric Néel wall at some critical values of H = H _⊥. The dependences of critical field H _⊥ on the film thickness and saturation induction at different values of the anisotropy field are determined: field H _⊥ depends on the thickness nonlinearly and on the saturation induction nonmonotonically.     

Theoretical investigation of exchange bias

The exchange bias of bilayer magnetic films consisting of ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) layers in an uncompensated case is studied by use of the many-body Green's function method of quantum statistical theory. The effects of the layer thickness and temperature and the interfacial coupling strength on the exchange bias H_E are investigated. The dependence of the exchange bias H_E on the FM layer thickness and temperature is qualitatively in agreement with experimental results. When temperature varies, both the coercivity H_C and H_E decrease with the temperature increasing. For each FM thickness, there exists a least AFM thickness in which the exchange bias occurs, which is called pinning thickness.     

Annealing effect of NiO/Co90Fe10 thin films: From bilayer to nanocomposite

Exchange-biased bilayers are widely used in the pinned layers of spintronic devices. While magnetic field annealing (MFA) was routinely engaged during the fabrication of these devices, the annealing effect of NiO/CoFe bilayers is not yet reported. In this paper, the transition from NiO/Co₉₀Fe₁₀ bilayer to nanocomposite single layer was observed through rapid thermal annealing at different temperatures under magnetic field. The as-deposited and low-temperature (<623 K) annealed samples had rock salt (NiO) and face center cubic (Co₉₀Fe₁₀) structures. On the other hand, annealing at 623 K and 673 K resulted in nanocomposite single layers composed of oxides (matrix) and alloys (precipitate), due to grain boundary oxidization and strong interdiffusion in the NiO/CoFe and CoFe/SiO₂ interfaces. The structural transition was accompanied by the reduction of grain sizes, re-ordering of crystallites, incensement of roughness, and reduction of Ni²⁺. When measured at room temperature, the bilayers exhibited soft magnetism with small room-temperature coercivity. The nanocomposite layers exhibited an enhanced coercivity due to the changes in the magnetization reversal mechanism by pinning from the oxides. At 10 K, the increased antiferromagnetic anisotropy in the NiO resulted in enhanced coercivity and exchange bias in the bilayers. The nanocomposites exhibited weaker exchange bias compared with the bilayers due to frustrated interfacial spins. This investigation on how the magnetic properties of exchange-biased bilayers are influenced by magnetic RTA provides insights into controlling the magnetization reversal properties of thin films.     

On the limiting velocity and forced motion of ferromagnetic domain walls in an external field perpendicular to the easy-magnetization axis

A theory is constructed for the dynamics and braking of domain walls in ferromagnets when a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the axis of easy magnetization (i.e., a transverse field H _⊥). The theory is valid for velocities v up to the limiting domain wall velocity v c. The Landau-Lifshitz equations in the dissipationless approximation are used to investigate the motion of domain walls and the change in the character of the wall motion as its velocity v approaches v _c. The force acting on a domain wall due to viscous friction is calculated within the framework of generalized relaxation theory, and the dependence of the domain wall velocity v on the forcing field H _z is investigated. Calculations of the braking force show that the contributions of various dissipation mechanisms to the friction force have different dependences on the domain wall velocity, which affects the form of the function v=v(H _z). The shapes of the curves v(H _z) differ very markedly from one another for different values of the field H _⊥. The theory developed here can be used to describe the experimental results, in particular the almost linear behavior of v=v(H _z) for small H _⊥ and its strongly nonlinear behavior when H _⊥∼H _a, whereas these data cannot be reconciled within the standard theory based on relaxation terms of Hilbert type. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 953–974 (September 1997)     

A multi-scale model of domain wall velocities based on ab initio parameters

A new approach is presented to evaluate the velocity of field-driven domain walls by means of ab initio parameters. This approach makes intensive use of multi-scaling by means of (a) mapping of domain wall formation energies obtained in terms of a fully relativistic method onto a Landau–Ginzburg-type expression, and (b) applying the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation to evaluate the time needed to move domain walls. In comparison with the “classical” expression for the domain wall velocity originally proposed by Landau and Lifshitz, according to which the velocity increases with increasing width of the domain wall, three different types of magnetic alloys, namely permalloy (Ni₈₅Fe₁₅), Co _x Ni_1?x and Co _x Pd_1?x , are analyzed. It is shown that the Landau–Lifshitz expression for the velocity seems to be valid whenever the slopes of the exchange and the anisotropy energy with respect to the concentration are either both increasing or both decreasing.     

Effect of thermal treatment on the magnetization processes of nanocrystalline Fe80Ge3Nb10B7 alloys

The dynamic magnetization processes of nanocrystalline Fe₈₀Ge₃Nb₁₀B₇ alloys after annealing at different temperatures are studied through the permeability spectroscopy. Three steps of crystallization are found when amorphous Fe₈₀Ge₃Nb₁₀B₇ alloys are heated from 300to 1200 K. The dominant magnetization process varies with different annealing temperatures. Domain wall bulging is the main magnetization mechanism under weak applied field. When the applied field exceeds pinning field H_p, the depinning-involved domain wall displacement occurs. Different annealing temperature results in different H_p. The lower value of μ′ and high relaxation frequency after heating at 923 and 973 K are due to the strengthened domain wall pinning and the increase of magnetocrystalline anisotropy.     

Exchange bias in bulk Ni-Mn-In-based Heusler alloys

The crystal structure and exchange bias of the bulk Heusler alloys Ni₅₀Mn_50−xIn_x with 14.5?x?15.2 have been investigated using X-ray diffraction and magnetization measurements, respectively. Magnetic measurements were performed with SQUID magnetometry after samples were zero-field cooled and field cooled (FC) in positive magnetic fields up to H=50 kOe, from a temperature T=380 K. Three temperatures of the phase transitions, T₁<T_M<T_C, and a shift of the FC (50 kOe) magnetic hysteresis loops up to 120 Oe at 5 K have been detected for all samples. The exchange bias field (H_E) was almost constant for intermediate In concentrations 14.8<x<15.2, and sharply decreased to about 20 Oe on the borders of this concentration interval (x?14.5; 15.2?x). The changes of H_E have been related to changes in the ratio of T₁ to T_M: the overlapping of transitions at T₁ and T_M (for x=14.8, and 15.2) results in a decrease in H_E.     

Stability of uniformly driven domain walls

An infinite ferromagnetic medium with orthorombic crystal field anisotropy and with a constantdc field applied along the easy axis is considered in the framework of micromagnetics. It is shown that in the presence of Gilbert damping the uniformly driven plane domain wall (Walker wall) with positive Döring mass is linearly stable for any strengthH of the applied field below a critical valueH ₀, where it connects to an unstable wall configuration with negative Döring mass. The critical fieldH ₀ is lower than the existence limitH _W (Walker limit) of the solitary travelling-wave type domain wall solutions, and represents the threshold of the field regionH _{0 W} where negative wall mobilities occur. The instability atH=H ₀ is associated with a nonuniform localized relaxation mode (corrugating mode) of the plane domain wall. If coupling to the external circuit is taken into account, negative-mobility walls also become unstable against uniform perturbations for sufficiently small circuit resistance.Work supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation     

The effect of nonmagnetic defects on magnetic behavior for multilayers Ta/Co/Co3O4/Ta

The exchange bias field H_E was much higher for Ta/Co/Co₃O₄/Ta than Ta/Co/Co₃O₄, fabricated in a magnetron sputtering system under the same experimental conditions. The XPS analysis showed that Ta atoms of cap layer for Ta/Co/Co₃O₄/Ta diffused into Co₃O₄ layer and reduced Co₃O₄, and introduced some nonmagnetic defects into the AFM layer. The dilution of the AFM layer led to the formation of volume domains. We believed that the higher H_E for the multilayers Ta/Co/Co₃O₄/Ta was primarily attributed to the formation of volume domain due to some nonmagnetic defects in AFM layer.     

Effects of component ratio and easy axes distribution on the exchange bias in ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic random alloys

For a ferromagnetic (FM)-antiferromagnetic (AFM) system with composition x(FM)+(AFM)_1−x, a modified Monte Carlo Metropolis method is performed to study the effects of x and easy axes distribution at the FM/AFM nearest neighbors on exchange bias field H_E, coercivity H_C, and vertical magnetization shift M_E after cooling under different magnetic fields h_CF. When the orientations of easy axes are uniform, the x dependence of H_E and M_E undergo a non-monotonous to monotonous process with the increase of h_CF, whereas H_C shows a more complex behavior. On the other hand, for the case of the random orientation, H_C has a peak around x=0.5, while M_E decreases with the increase of x. H_E exhibits negative extrema at small x and disappears for larger x. However, abnormal positive H_E observed depends on the frustration and the distinct trends of two coercive fields with x in such a special model.     

退火对IrMn基磁隧道结多层膜热稳定性的影响

采用磁控溅射方法制备了结构为IrMn/CoFe/AlO_x/CoFe的磁性隧道结多层膜,样品置于真空磁场中进行退火处理. 将在不同温度退火的磁隧道结结构多层膜置于负饱和场中等待,研究退火温度对样品热稳定性的影响. 结果表明:退火提高了多层膜反铁磁层的单轴各向异性能,增加了样品的交换偏置;随着负饱和场等待时间的延长,被钉扎层的磁滞回线向正场偏移,交换偏置单调减小,但退火减弱了这种趋势. 关键词： 磁隧道结 交换偏置 磁化反转     

The initial stage in the nonlinear motion of a domain wall in garnet films

A study of the domain-wall motion in single-crystal garnet films of the YBiFeGa system with a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, activated by a constant in-plane bias field H _p parallel to the wall plane and a pulsed drive field H _g of an amplitude corresponding to the nonlinear region of the domain-wall velocity vs. the H _g relation is reported. The earlier data suggesting the existence of an initial phase of motion, where the wall is accelerated to a high instantaneous velocity, have been confirmed. The wall behavior in the initial phase has been shown to be affected by the field H _p and the drive-field pulse rise time. A possible mechanism of the wall structure transformation after the application of the H _g pulse is considered. It has been established that the dependence of the wall velocity on H _p in the saturation region disagrees with theory.     

Effect of a pulsed magnetic field on the nonlinear dynamics of vortexlike domain walls in magnetic films

The Landau-Lifshitz equation is numerically solved to study the nonlinear dynamic behavior of domain walls with the 2D vortexlike magnetization distribution in magnetically uniaxial films that have in-plane anisotropy and are exposed to a pulsed magnetic field. It is shown that a pulsed magnetic field H _p may induce transitions between various steady wall motions that differ in magnetization distribution. Solitary rectangular pulses, as well as a regular train of rectangular pulses, may be used to control the period of nonlinear dynamic transformations of the wall internal structure and the related period of variation of the wall velocity.     

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.