Tailoring Size Effects on the Exchange Bias in Ferromagnetic-Antiferromagnetic < 100 nm Nanostructures

Vincent Baltz (1) , J. Sort (1) , S. Landis (2) , B. Rodmacq (1) , B. Dieny (1)

1 SPINTEC - SPINtronique et TEchnologie des Composants
2 CEA-LETI - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives - Laboratoire d'Electronique et de Technologie de l'Information

The hysteresis loop shift in sub-100 nm ferromagnetic- (FM-)antiferromagnetic (AFM) nanostructures can be either enhanced or reduced with respect to continuous films with the same composition, with varying the AFM layer thickness. An enhancement of the coercivity and a reduction of the blocking temperature are also observed. These effects are mainly ascribed to the physical limitations that the dot sizes impose on the AFM domain size and the concomitant weakening of the pinning strength exerted by the AFM during magnetization reversal of the FM.

Domaines: Matière Condensée [cond-mat]

Vincent Baltz, J. Sort, S. Landis, B. Rodmacq, B. Dieny. Tailoring Size Effects on the Exchange Bias in Ferromagnetic-Antiferromagnetic < 100 nm Nanostructures. Physical Review Letters, 2005, 94, pp.117201. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.117201⟩. ⟨hal-01683705⟩