Influence of ferromagnetic layer on the exchange coupling of antiferromagnetic NiO-based films

Strong effects of ferromagnetic layer (FMCo, and Ni80Fe20) on the magnitude and blocking temperature of exchange coupling are observed in antiferromagnetic NiO-based films NiO (5nm)/FM1 (tnm)/FM2 (6-tnm). The existence of interfacial spins configuration in glass-like state and FM anisotropy are proposed to interpret a minimum shown in thermal magnetization curves for films with strong exchange coupling effect. The microstructural change of FM layer and the long-range interaction of exchange bias are taken into account to explain a strong dependence of exchange coupling energy density on the thickness tF of FM layer when tF