Modeling exchange bias microscopically

Abstract

Exchange bias is a horizontal shift of the hysteresis loop observed for a ferromagnetic layer in contact with an antiferromagnetic layer. Since exchange bias is related to the spin structure of the antiferromagnet, for its fundamental understanding a detailed knowledge of the physics of the antiferromagnetic layer is inevitable.A model is investigated where domains are formed in the volume of the AFM stabilized by dilution.These domains become frozen during the initial cooling procedure carrying a remanent net magnetization which causes and controls exchange bias.Varying the anisotropy of the antiferromagnet, we find a non-trivial dependence of the exchange bias on the anisotropy of the antiferromagnet.