Correlation between structural quality and magnetic properties of IrMn-based multilayers

Abstract

Structural and magnetic characterizations have been performed on exchange-biased multilayers, namely, TaXIrMnYTa where X and Y are Py and/or Co. In agreement with earlier calculations, magnetic hysteresis loops reveal a clear correlation between the structural quality of the IrMn layer and the variation of the surface exchange energy constant versus its thickness. Moreover, we observe a direct link between the exchange bias variation with temperature and the magnetic disorder. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.