Field-Dependent Magnetic Domain Walls in Exchange-Biased GdFe/TbFe Bilayers
Résumé
Exchange biasing has been widely studied in ferromagnetic/ antiferromagnetic (FM/AFM) bilayers [1] and is essential for the operation of magneto-electronic devices, such as read heads in computer hard drives. This phenomenon is characterized by a shift of the magnetic hysteresis loop by an amount known as the exchange field, HE, after field cooling. In some systems it has been shown that the exchange coupling at the interface is antiferromagnetic and that HE can change from positive to negative values depending on the magnitude of the cooling field [2]. Theoretical models for this behavior predict the formation of domain walls in either the FM or AFM layer [1,2]. Here we describe a system in which exchange bias is the direct result of a frozen interface domain wall, revealed by polarized neutron reflectivity (PNR), whose width depends on the cooling field.
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