Quenching of the Exchange Bias Training in Fe/Cr2O3/Fe Trilayer

Authors

• Sarbeswar Sahoo, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
• Christian Binek, University of Nebraska, LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

Fall 10-23-2008

Comments

Published in AIP. Conf. Proc., 1063 132

Abstract

Exchange bias (EB) and its associated training effects are studied in an epitaxial Fe(10 nm)/Cr2O3(2.7 nm)/Fe(10 nm) trilayer heterostructure grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The EB decreases linearly with increasing temperature from T = 5 K to T = 50 K. It changes sign and becomes positive within 50 K < T < 200 K, finally changing back to regular EB for T<200K up to the highest measured temperature of T = 395 K. Remarkably, the latter is far above the bulk Néel temperature TN = 307 K. EB training effects occur only at 5 K < T < 50 K. We show that this training can be quenched by subjecting the system to DC magnetic field, µ0HDC <= 7 T. The applied field most likely induces a temperature dependent spin-flop transition. Upon its removal the antiferromagnetic Cr2O3 pinning layer evolves uniformly into its quasi-equilibrium spin configuration thus leading to quasi-equilibrium EB.