Domain State Model for Exchange Bias

Abstract

Monte Carlo simulations of a system consisting of a ferromagnetic layer exchange coupled to a diluted antiferromagnetic layer described by a classical spin model show a strong dependence of the exchange bias on the degree of dilution in agreement with recent experimental observations on Co/CoO bilayers. These simulations reveal that diluting the antiferromagnet leads to the formation of domains in the volume of the antiferromagnet carrying a remanent surplus magnetization which causes and controls exchange bias. To further support this domain state model for exchange bias we study in the present paper the dependence of the bias field on the thickness of the antiferromagnetic layer. It is shown that the bias field strongly increases with increasing film thickness and eventually goes over a maximum before it levels out for large thicknesses. These findings are in full agreement with experiments.

8 pages latex, 3 postscript figures

References in corpus (1)

• Exact Ground State Properties of Disordered Ising-Systems

Cited by in corpus (12)

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• Controlled enhancement or suppression of exchange biasing using impurity $\delta$-layers
• Readout of a antiferromagnetic spintronics systems by strong exchange coupling of Mn2Au and Permalloy
• Exchange bias in [Co2MnGe/Au],[Co2MnGe/Cr] and [Co2MnGe/Cu2MnAl] multilayers
• The exchange bias phenomenon in uncompensated interfaces: Theory and Monte Carlo simulations
• Induced four fold anisotropy and bias in compensated NiFe/FeMn double layers
• Structure and morphology of epitaxially grown Fe3O4/NiO bilayers on MgO(001)
• Frustrated spin-1/2 ladder with ferro- and antiferromagnetic legs
• Evidence of Spin-Glass state in Molecular Exchange-Bias System