Berlin 2008 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 40: Magnetism in Thin Films: Interaction Phenomena and Heterostructures

DS 40.1: Invited Talk

Friday, February 29, 2008, 12:15–12:45, H 2032

Influence of antiferromagnetic layers on the magnetization dynamics of exchange coupled thin films — •Jeffrey McCord — Institute for Metallic Materials, IFW Dresden, Germany

The strength of unidirectional and uniaxial anisotropy fields together with the effective damping parameter in different types of polycrystalline ferromagnet/antiferromagnet (F/AF; AF:NiO, IrMn) systems is investigated as a function of AF thickness and thermal history. It is shown that, independent of the occurrence of exchange bias, higher order exchange anisotropy terms can be induced. These findings are also compared to complementary magnetic domain studies.The role of the formation of an interfacial layer on coupling, anisotropy, and magnetic damping is discussed. The data implies that the spin structure inside the antiferromagnetic layer is responsible for exchange bias and the dominating contribution to coercivity, the interfacial structure for the overall coupling. The chemical F/AF boundary structure and the thermomagnetic history is relevant and can be used to tailor precessional frequency and magnetic damping of ferromagnetic layers over a wide range.