Single-shot laser-induced switching of an exchange biased antiferromagnet
Zongxia Guo, Junlin Wang, Gregory Malinowski, Boyu Zhang, Wei Zhang, Hangtian Wang, Chen Liu, Yi Peng, Pierre Vallobra, Yongbing Xu, Sarah Jenkins, Roy W. Chant… 展开作者
Zongxia Guo, Junlin Wang, Gregory Malinowski, Boyu Zhang, Wei Zhang, Hangtian Wang, Chen Liu, Yi Peng, Pierre Vallobra, Yongbing Xu, Sarah Jenkins, Roy W. Chantrell, Richard F. L. Evans, Stéphane Mangin, Weisheng Zhao, Michel Hehn
Ultrafast manipulation of magnetic order has challenged our understanding the fundamental and dynamic properties of magnetic materials. So far single shot magnetic switching has been limited to ferrimagnetic alloys and multilayers. In ferromagnetic (FM)/antiferromagnetic (AFM) bilayers, exchange bias (He) arises from the interfacial exchange coupling between the two layers and reflects the microscopic orientation of the antiferromagnet. Here we demonstrate the possibility of single shot switching of the antiferromagnet (change of the sign and amplitude of He) with a single femtosecond laser pulse in IrMn/CoGd bilayers. We demonstrate the switching for a wide range of fluences for different layer thicknesses and compositions. Atomistic simulations predict ultrafast switching and recovery of the AFM magnetization on a timescale of 2 ps. These results provide the fastest and the most energy-efficient method to set the exchange bias and pave the way to potential applications for ultrafast spintronic devices.
Electrical switching and readout of antiferromagnets allows to exploit the unique properties of antiferromagnetic materials in nanoscopic electronic devices. Here we report experiments on the spin-orbit torque induced electrical switching of a polycrystalline, metallic antiferromagnet with low anisotropy and high Néel temperature. We demonstrate the switching in a Ta / MnN / Pt trilayer system, deposited by (reactive) magnetron sputtering. The dependence of switching amplitude, efficiency, and relaxation are studied with respect to the MnN film thickness, sample temperature, and current densit…
We explore the possibility of ultrafast, coherent all-optical magnetization switching in antiferromagnets by studying the action of the inverse Faraday effect in CrPt, an easy-plane antiferromagnet. Using a combination of density functional theory and atomistic spin dynamics simulations, we show how a circularly polarized laser pulse can switch the order parameter of the antiferromagnet within a few hundred femtoseconds. This nonthermal switching takes place on an elliptical path, driven by the staggered magnetic moments induced by the inverse Faraday effect and leading to reliable switching b…
We probe the current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet/heavy metals systems, by electrical spin Hall magnetoresistance measurements and direct imaging, identifying a reversal occurring by domain wall (DW) motion. We observe switching of more than one third of the antiferromagnetic domains by the application of current pulses. Our data reveal two different magnetic switching mechanisms leading together to an efficient switching, namely the spin-current induced effective magnetic anisotropy variation and the action of the spin torque on the DWs.
Crossover between intrinsic and temperature-assisted regimes in spin-orbit torque switching of antiferromagnetic order
The University of Tokyo（东京大学）；The Johns Hopkins University（约翰斯·霍普金斯大学）；Japan Science and Technology Agency（日本科学技术振兴机构）；Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo（东京大学固体物理研究所）；Osaka University（大阪大学）；RIKEN（理化学研究所）；Trans-scale Quantum Science Institute, The University of Tokyo（东京大学跨尺度量子科学研究所）；Canadian Institute for Advanced Research（加拿大高级研究院）
The recently discovered electrical-induced switching of antiferromagnetic (AF) materials that have spatial inversion asymmetry has enriched the field of spintronics immensely and opened the door for the concept of antiferromagnetic MRAM. CuMnAs is one promising AF material that exhibits such electrical switching ability, and has been studied to switch using electrical pulses of length millisecond down to picosecond, but with little focus on nanosecond regime. We demonstrate here switching of CuMnAs/GaP using nanosecond pulses. Our results showed that in the nanosecond regime low-energy switchi…
We unravel the origin of current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet/heavy metal systems. We utilize concurrent transport and magneto-optical measurements to image the switching of antiferromagnetic domains in specially engineered devices of NiO/Pt bilayers. Different electrical pulsing and device geometries reveal different final states of the switching with respect to the current direction. We can explain these through simulations of the temperature induced strain and we identify the thermomagnetoelastic switching mechanism combined with thermal excitations as the origin…
Noncollinear antiferromagnets have promising potential to replace ferromagnets in the field of spintronics as high-density devices with ultrafast operation. To take full advantage of noncollinear antiferromagnets in spintronics applications, it is important to achieve efficient manipulation of noncollinear antiferromagnetic spin. Here, using the anomalous Hall effect as an electrical signal of the triangular magnetic configuration, spin-orbit torque switching with no external magnetic field is demonstrated in noncollinear antiferromagnetic antiperovskite manganese nitride Mn$_3$GaN at room tem…
It was demonstrated recently that on ultrashort time scales magnetization dynamics does not only exhibit precession but also nutation. Here, we investigate how nutation can contribute to spin switching leading towards ultrafast data writing. We use analytic theory and atomistic spin simulations to discuss the behavior of ferromagnets and antiferromagnets in high-frequency magnetic fields. In ferromagnets, linearly polarized fields align the magnetization perpendicular to the external field, enabling $90^{\circ}$ switching. For circularly polarized fields in the $xy$ plane, the magnetization ti…
It is shown that magnetic states and field-driven reorientation transitions in synthetic antiferromagnets crucially depend on contributions of higher-order anisotropies. A phenomenological macrospin model is derived to describe the magnetic states of two antiferromagnetically coupled magnetic thin film elements. The calculated phase diagrams show that magnetic states with out-of-plane magnetization, symmetric escaped spin-flop phases, exist in a broad range of the applied magnetic field. Due to the formation of such states and concomitant multidomain patterns, the switching processes in toggle…
The family of monolayer two-dimensional (2D) materials hosts a wide range of interesting phenomena, including superconductivity, charge density waves, topological states and ferromagnetism, but direct evidence for antiferromagnetism in the monolayer has been lacking. Nevertheless, antiferromagnets have attracted enormous interest recently in spintronics due to the absence of stray fields and their terahertz resonant frequency. Despite the great advantages of antiferromagnetic spintronics, controlling and detecting Néel vectors have been limited in bulk materials. In this work, we developed a s…
In this work, IrMn$_{3}$/insulating-Y$_{3}$Fe$_{5}$O$_{12}$ exchange-biased bilayers are studied. The behavior of the net magnetic moment $Δm_{AFM}$ in the antiferromagnet is directly probed by anomalous and planar Hall effects, and anisotropic magnetoresistance. The $Δm_{AFM}$ is proved to come from the interfacial uncompensated magnetic moment. We demonstrate that the exchange bias and rotational hysteresis are induced by the irreversible switching of the $Δm_{AFM}$. In the training effect, the $Δm_{AFM}$ changes continuously. This work highlights the fundamental role of the $Δm_{AFM}$ in th…
Using a three-dimensional focused-ion beam lithography process we have fabricated nanopillar devices which show spin transfer torque switching at zero external magnetic fields. Under a small in-plane external bias field, a field-dependent peak in the differential resistance versus current is observed similar to that reported in asymmetrical nanopillar devices. This is interpreted as evidence for the low-field excitation of spin waves which in our case is attributed to a spin-scattering asymmetry enhanced by the IrMn exchange bias layer coupled to a relatively thin CoFe fixed layer.
Antiferromagnets with zero net magnetic moment, strong anti-interference and ultrafast switching speed have potential competitiveness in high-density information storage. Body centered tetragonal antiferromagnet Mn2Au with opposite spin sub-lattices is a unique metallic material for Néel-order spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching. Here we investigate the SOT switching in quasi-epitaxial (103), (101) and (204) Mn2Au films prepared by a simple magnetron sputtering method. We demonstrate current induced antiferromagnetic moment switching in all the prepared Mn2Au films by a short current pulse at ro…
Antiferromagnets are robust to external electric and magnetic fields, and hence are seemingly uncontrollable. Recent studies, however, realized the electrical manipulations of antiferromagnets by virtue of the antiferromagnetic Edelstein effect. We present a general symmetry analysis of electrically switchable antiferromagnets based on group-theoretical approaches. Furthermore, we identify a direct relation between switchable antiferromagnets and the ferrotoroidic order. The concept of the ferrotoroidic order clarifies the unidirectional nature of switchable antiferromagnets and provides a cri…
The magnetic characteristics of polycrystalline exchange-biased antiferromagnet/ferromagnet-bilayers are determined by a complex interplay of parameters, describing structural and magnetic properties of the material system, including in particular the grain volume distribution of the antiferromagnet. An ideal characterization of such systems would be a non-destructive determination of the relevant parameters for each individual grain. This is in most cases not feasible, since typical characterization methods do average over larger areas. Here, we show that it is however possible to determine a…
Electric field control of magnetic anisotropy in ferromagnets has been intensively pursued in spintronics to achieve efficient memory and computing devices with low energy consumption. Compared with ferromagnets, antiferromagnets hold huge potential in high-density information storage for their ultrafast spin dynamics and vanishingly small stray field. However, the switching of magnetic anisotropy of antiferromagnets via electric field remains elusive. Here we use ferroelastic strain from piezoelectric materials to switch the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy and the Néel order reversibly in antife…
Spin-orbit torque (SOT)-induced magnetization switching shows promise for realizing ultrafast and reliable spintronics devices. Bipolar switching of perpendicular magnetization via SOT is achieved under an in-plane magnetic field collinear with an applied current. Typical structures studied so far comprise a nonmagnet/ferromagnet (NM/FM) bilayer, where the spin Hall effect in the NM is responsible for the switching. Here we show that an antiferromagnet/ferromagnet (AFM/FM) bilayer system also exhibits a SOT large enough to switch the magnetization of FM. In this material system, thanks to the …
The manipulation of antiferromagnetic order by means of spin-orbit torques opens unprecedented opportunities to exploit the dynamics of antiferromagnets in spintronic devices. In this work, we investigate the current-induced switching of the magnetic octupole vector in the Weyl antiferromagnet Mn$_3$Sn as a function of pulse shape, field, temperature, and time. We find that the switching behavior can be either bistable or tristable depending on the temporal structure of the current pulses. Time-resolved Hall effect measurements reveal that Mn$_3$Sn switching proceeds via a two-step demagnetiza…
Electrical manipulation of antiferromagnets with specific symmetries offers the prospect of creating novel, antiferromagnetic spintronic devices. Such devices aim to make use of the insensitivity to external magnetic fields and the ultrafast dynamics at the picosecond timescale intrinsic to antiferromagnets. The possibility to electrically switch antiferromagnets was first predicted for Mn2Au and then experimentally observed in tetragonal CuMnAs. Here, we report on the electrical switching and detection of the Neel order in epitaxial films of Mn2Au. The exponential dependences of the switching…
Magnons in antiferromagnets can support both right-handed and left-handed chiralities, which shed a light on the chirality-based spintronics. Here we demonstrate the switching and reading of magnon chirality in an artificial antiferromagnet. The coexisting antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic characteristic resonance modes are discovered, which permits a high tunability in the modulation of magnon chirality. The reading of the chirality is accomplished via the chirality-dependent spin pumping as well as spin rectification effect. Our result illustrates an ideal antiferromagnetic platform for ha…
Picosecond switching of the staggered antiferromagnetic order is shown to be realizable through spin-transfer torques from a short current pulse. The coupled dynamics of sublattice magnetization is mapped onto a classical pendulum subject to gravity and a driving pulse, where switching occurs if the pendulum acquires sufficient kinetic energy during the pulse to overcome the maximum of the effective gravity potential. The optimal switching scheme is explored through the dependence of switch angle and magnetic loss on the duration and strength of the current pulse. The physics discussed here pr…
We analyze the complex impact of the local magnetic spin texture on the transverse Hall-type voltage in device structures utilized to measure magnetoresistance effects. We find a highly localized and asymmetric magnetic sensitivity in the eight-terminal geometries that are frequently used in current-induced switching experiments, for instance to probe antiferromagnetic materials. Using current-induced switching of antiferromagnetic NiO/Pt as an example, we estimate the change in the spin Hall magnetoresistance signal associated with switching events based on the domain switching patterns obser…
The effects of current induced Néel spin-orbit torques on the antiferromagnetic domain structure of epitaxial Mn$_2$Au thin films were investigated by X-ray magnetic linear dichroism - photoemission electron microscopy (XMLD-PEEM). We observed current induced switching of AFM domains essentially corresponding to morphological features of the samples. Reversible as well as irreversible Néel vector reorientation was obtained in different parts of the samples and the switching of up to 30 % of all domains in the field of view of 10 $μ$m is demonstrated. Our direct microscopical observations are c…
Recently it has been predicted that a spin-polarized electrical current perpendicular-to-plane (CPP) directly flowing through a magnetic element can induce magnetization switching through spin-momentum transfer. In this letter, the first observation of current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) in exchange-biased spin-valves (ESPVs) at room temperature is reported. The ESPVs show the CIMS behavior under a sweeping dc current with a very high critical current density. It is demonstrated that a thin Ruthenium (Ru) layer inserted between a free layer and a top electrode effectively reduces th…
Using soft x-ray spectromicroscopy, we investigate the magnetic domain structure in embedded nanomagnets defined in La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ thin films and LaFeO$_3$/La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ bilayers. We find that shape-controlled antiferromagnetic domain states give rise to a significant reduction of the switching field of the rectangular nanomagnets. This is discussed in the framework of competition between an intrinsic spin-flop coupling and shape anisotropy. The data demonstrates that shape effects in antiferromagnets may be used to control the magnetic properties in nanomagnets.
We achieve current-induced switching in collinear insulating antiferromagnetic CoO/Pt, with fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy. This is measured electrically by spin Hall magnetoresistance and confirmed by the magnetic field-induced spin-flop transition of the CoO layer. By applying current pulses and magnetic fields, we quantify the efficiency of the acting current-induced torques and estimate a current-field equivalence ratio of $4x10^{-11} T A^{-1} m^2$. The Néel vector final state ($n \perp j$) is in line with a thermomagnetoelastic switching mechanism for a negative magnetoelastic cons…
The magnetization dynamics of a synthetic antiferromagnet subject to a short magnetic field pulse, has been studied by using a combination of first-principles and atomistic spin dynamics simulations. We observe switching phenomena on the time scale of tens of picoseconds, and inertia-like behavior in the magnetization dynamics. We explain the latter in terms of a dynamic redistribution of magnetic energy from the applied field pulse to other possible energy terms, such as the exchange interaction and the magnetic anisotropy, without invoking concepts such as inertia of an antiferromagnetic vec…
We report electrical current switching of noncollinear antiferromagnetic (AFM) Mn$_3$GaN/Pt bilayers at room temperature. The Hall resistance of these bilayers can be manipulated by applying a pulse current of $1.5\times10^6$~A/cm$^2$, whereas no significant change is observed up to $\sim10^8$~A/cm$^2$ in Mn$_3$GaN single films, indicating that the Pt layer plays an important role. In comparison with ferrimagnetic Mn$_3$GaN/Pt bilayers, a lower electrical current switching of noncollinear AFM Mn$_3$GaN is demonstrated, with a critical current density two orders of magnitude smaller. Our result…
This work reports on the magnetic reversal of sub-micrometer sized elements consisting of an CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB artificial ferrimagnet (AFi). The elements were patterned into ellipses having a width of approximately 250 to 270nm and a varying aspect ratio between 1.3 and 8. The coercivity was found to decrease with an increasing imbalance of the magnetic moment of the two antiferromagnetically coupled layers and is therefore strongly affected by an increase of effective anisotropy due to the antiferromagnetic coupling of the two layers. With respect to a single layer of amorphous CoFeB, patterned …
One of the most important challenges in antiferromagnetic spintronics is the read-out of the Néel vector state. High current densities up to 10$^8$ Acm$^{-2}$ used in the electrical switching experiments cause notorious difficulty in distinguishing between magnetic and thermal origins of the electrical signals. To overcome this problem, we present a temperature dependence study of the transverse resistance changes in the switching experiment with CoO|Pt devices. We demonstrate the possibility to extract a pattern of spin Hall magnetoresistance for current pulses density of $5 \times 10^7$ Acm$…
Characteristic temperatures in ferromagnetic - antiferromagnetic exchange biased systems are analyzed. In addition to usual blocking temperature of exchange bias $T_{B}$, and the Néel temperature of an antiferromagnet $T_{N}$, the inducing temperature $T_{ind}$, i.e., the temperature, at which the direction of exchange anisotropy is established, has been recently proposed. We demonstrate that this temperature is in general case different from $T_{B}$ and $T_{N}$. Physics and experimental approaches to measure the inducing temperature are discussed. Measurements of $T_{ind}$, in addition to $T_…
NiO is a prototypical antiferromagnet with a characteristic resonance frequency in the THz range. From atomistic spin dynamics simulations that take into account the crystallographic structure of NiO, and in particular a magnetic anisotropy respecting its symmetry, we describe antiferromagnetic switching at THz frequency by a spin transfer torque mechanism. Sub-picosecond S-state switching between the six allowed stable spin directions is found for reasonably achievable spin currents, like those generated by laser induced ultrafast demagnetization. A simple procedure for picosecond writing of …
The magnetic properties of trilayers consisting of a diluted magnetic alloy, CuMn (Cu0.99Mn0.01), a soft ferromagnet, Py(Ni0.8Fe0.2), and an antiferromagnet, alpha-Fe2O3, were investigated. The samples, grown by UHV magnetron sputtering, were magnetically characterized in the temperature range T = 3-100 K. Typical exchange bias features, namely clear hysteresis cycle shifts and coercivity enhancements, were observed. Moreover the presence of an inverse bias, which had been already reported for spin glass-based structures, was also obtained in a well defined range of temperatures and CuMn thick…
Current flowing is studied in magnetic junctions consisting of a ferromagnetic metal (FM), antiferromagnetic conductor (AFM) and a nonmagnetic metal closing the electric circuit. The FM layer with high anisotropy and pinned spins of the magnetic atoms in the lattice acts as a spin injector relative to the AFM layer. To obtain resulting magnetization in the AFM layer, magnetic field is applied, which may be varied to control the magnetization. The spin-polarized current from the FM layer creates a torque and makes it possible to switch the magnetization. A possibility is shown to lower the thre…
Memristive devices whose resistance can be hysteretically switched by electric field or current are intensely pursued both for fundamental interest as well as potential applications in neuromorphic computing and phase-change memory. When the underlying material exhibits additional charge or spin order, the resistive states can be directly coupled, further allowing for electrical control of the collective phases. Here, we report the observation of abrupt, memristive switching of tunneling current in nanoscale junctions of ultrathin CrI$_3$, a natural layer antiferromagnet. The coupling to spin …
Nanoscale quantum imaging of field-free deterministic switching of a chiral antiferromagnet
Georgia Institute of Technology（佐治亚理工学院）；University of Michigan（密歇根大学）；University of California, Davis（加州大学戴维斯分校）；National Institute for Materials Science（物质材料研究机构）；Colorado State University（科罗拉多州立大学）
We suggest coherent switching of canted antiferromagnetic (AFM) spins using spin-orbit torque (SOT) in small magnet. The magnetic system of orthoferrite features biaxial easy anisotropy and the Dzyaloshinskii Moriya interaction, which is perpendicular to the easy axes and therefore creates weak magnetization (m). A damping-like component of the SOT induces Néel reorientation along one of the easy axes and then exerts torque on m, leading to tilting of the Néel order l. The torque on the magnetization becomes stronger due to coupling with the induced Oersted field or the field-like component of…
We present a comprehensive study of the exchange bias effect in a model system. Through numerical analysis of the exchange bias and coercive fields as a function of the antiferromagnetic layer thickness we deduce the absolute value of the averaged anisotropy constant of the antiferromagnet. We show that the anisotropy of IrMn exhibits a finite size effect as a function of thickness. The interfacial spin disorder involved in the data analysis is further supported by the observation of the dual behavior of the interfacial uncompensated spins. Utilizing soft x-ray resonant magnetic reflectometry …
Electrical and optical pulsing allow for manipulating the order parameter and magnetoresistance of antiferromagnets, opening novel prospects for digital and analog data storage in spintronic devices. Recent experiments in CuMnAs have demonstrated giant resistive switching signals in single-layer antiferromagnetic films together with analog switching and relaxation characteristics relevant for neuromorphic computing. Here we report simultaneous electrical pulsing and scanning NV magnetometry of antiferromagnetic domains in CuMnAs performed using a pump-probe scheme. We observe a nano-scale frag…
Louis Neel pointed out in his Nobel lecture that while abundant and interesting from a theoretical viewpoint, antiferromagnets did not seem to have any applications. Indeed, the alternating directions of magnetic moments on individual atoms and the resulting zero net magnetization make antiferromagnets hard to control by tools common in ferromagnets. Remarkably, Neel in his lecture provides the key which, as we show here, allows us to control antiferromagnets by electrical means analogous to those which paved the way to the development of ferromagnetic spintronics applications. The key noted b…
Recent research demonstrated the electrical switching of antiferromagnets via intrinsic spin-orbit torque or the spin Hall effect of an adjacent heavy metal layer. The electrical readout is typically realized by measuring the transverse anisotropic magnetoresistance at planar cross- or star-shaped devices with four or eight arms, respectively. Depending on the material, the current density necessary to switch the magnetic state can be large, often close to the destruction threshold of the device. We demonstrate that the resulting electrical stress changes the film resistivity locally and there…
Nanostructured Fe dots were prepared on antiferromagnetic FeF2 thin films and investigated by magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). We studied the influence of dot sizes on the magnetic hysteresis and compared the result with both continuous thin film bilayers and nanostructured Fe/FeF2 pillars. Hysteresis loops were measured at temperatures below and above (10 and 90 K, respectively) the Neel temperature of the antiferromagnet. A vortex state is found for dots of 300 nm diameter, where the exchange bias field is reduced compared to larger dot system and the continuous bilayer. Micromagnetic sim…
The exchange bias at ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic interfaces strongly depends upon the state of antiferromagnetic (AF) layer which, due to strong magnetoelastic coupling, is sensitive to mechanical stresses. In the present paper we consider magnetoelastic effects that arise at FM/AF interface due to lattice misfit and magnetic ordering. We show how magnetostriction affects mutual orientation of AF and FM vectors and easy-axis direction in thin AF layer. The results obtained could be used for tailoring exchange biased systems.
Antiferromagnets (AFMs) are widely believed to be superior than ferromagnets in spintronics because of their high stability due to the vanishingly small stray field. It is thus expected that the order parameter of AFM should always align along the easy-axis of the crystalline anisotropy. In contrast to this conventional wisdom, we find that the AFM order parameter switches away from the easy-axis below a critical anisotropy strength when an AFM is properly tailored into a nano-structure. The switching time first decreases and then increases with the damping. Above the critical anisotropy, the …
The theory behind the electrical switching of antiferromagnets is premised on the existence of a well defined broken symmetry state that can be rotated to encode information. A spin glass is in many ways the antithesis of this state, characterized by an ergodic landscape of nearly degenerate magnetic configurations, choosing to freeze into a distribution of these in a manner that is seemingly bereft of information. In this study, we show that the coexistence of spin glass and antiferromagnetic order allows a novel mechanism to facilitate the switching of the antiferromagnet Fe$_{1/3+δ}$NbS$_2$…
Antiferromagnets offer spintronic device characteristics unparalleled in ferromagnets owing to their lack of stray fields, THz spin dynamics, and rich materials landscape. Microscopic imaging of aniferromagnetic domains is one of the key prerequisites for understading physical principles of the device operation. However, adapting common magnetometry techniques to the dipolar-field-free antiferromagnets has been a major challenge. Here we demonstrate in a collinear antiferromagnet a thermoelectric detection method by combining the magneto-Seebeck effect with local heat gradients generated by sc…
Electrical manipulation of spin textures inside antiferromagnets represents a new opportunity for developing spintronics with superior speed and high device density. Injecting spin currents into antiferromagnets and realizing efficient spin-orbit-torque-induced switching is however still challenging due to the complicated interactions from different sublattices. Meanwhile, because of the diminishing magnetic susceptibility, the nature and the magnitude of current-induced magnetic dynamics remain poorly characterized in antiferromagnets, whereas spurious effects further complicate experimental …
A modified effective field model was developed to quantitatively interpret the angular dependent magnetization reversal processes in exchange biased Fe/IrMn bilayers. Several kinds of multi-step loops with distinct magnetization reversal routes were observed for the samples measured at various field orientations. Two types of angular dependent switching fields are observed and their transitions are investigated, which are found to be driven by both Fe and IrMn layer thicknesses. Our modified effective field model can nicely describe all the switching field behaviors including the critical effe…
Vector Spin Chirality Switching in Noncollinear Antiferromagnets
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research（贾瓦哈拉尔·尼赫鲁高级科学研究中心）；SASTRA Deemed University（萨斯特拉认定大学）；Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)（德国电子同步加速器）；Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram（印度科学教育研究所特里凡得琅分校）；UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research（UGC-DAE科研联盟）；ALBA Synchrotron Light Source（阿尔巴同步辐射光源）；The University of Sydney（悉尼大学）；Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal（印度科学教育研究所博帕尔分校）
