R.W. Gammon, E. Courtens, et al.
Physical Review B
Exchange anisotropy refers to the magnetic manifestations of an exchange coupling at the interface between two different magnetically ordered systems. Of particular current technological interest is the unidirectional anisotropy, or `exchange-bias’ field produced in a ferromagnetic film that is coupled to an appropriate antiferromagnetic film. Experimental characterization and theoretical models are discussed for these types of bilayers for a variety of metallic and oxide film couples.