Exchange-spring behavior in epitaxial hard/soft magnetic bilayer films
- Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois60439 (United States)
We present results on the magnetic reversal process in epitaxial Sm{endash}Co(1{bar 1}00)/TM (TM=Fe, Co) bilayer films prepared via magnetron sputtering onto Cr-buffered single-crystal MgO substrates. The magnetically hard Sm{endash}Co films have 20 T uniaxial anisotropy and coercivities {gt}3 T at room temperature. The magnetization of the soft layer is pinned at the interface to the hard-magnet layer and switches reversibly as expected for an exchange-spring magnet. With increasing soft layer thickness, the coercive field of the hard layer becomes significantly less than that of a single layer. We also present numerical solutions to a one-dimensional model that provide the spin configuration for each atomic layer. Comparison of the experimental results with the model simulations indicates that the exchange-spring behavior of our bilayer films can be understood from the intrinsic parameters of the hard and soft layers. {copyright} {ital 1998 American Institute of Physics.}
- OSTI ID:
- 627965
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-980102--
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 83; ISSN JAPIAU; ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Exchange-spring behavior in epitaxial hard/soft magnetic bilayers.
Spring magnet films