Orientational dependence of the exchange biasing in molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown Ni80Fe20/Fe50Mn50 bilayers (invited)

The exchange biasing field (Heb) and coercive field (Hc) of molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown Cu/Ni80Fe20/Fe50Mn50 samples in [111], [001], and [110] orientations have been investigated by longitudinal Kerr effect measurements. Ni80Fe20 and Fe50Mn50 were deposited as orthogonal wedge-shaped layers on single-crystal Cu substrates in a magnetic field, enabling the study of the thickness dependence of Heb and Hc on a single sample for each orientation. A strong dependence of Heb and Hc on the growth orientation is observed. The results are interpreted in terms of the observed noncollinear spin structure of the antiferromagnet and a comparison is given with the predictions from recent theoretical models.