Experimental test of macroscopic models for exchange anisotropy in FM/AF bilayers

Abstract

Ferromagnetic resonance measurements in two series of ferromagnetic (FM)/antiferromagnetic (AF) bilayer samples of NiFe(t)/NiO and CoFe(t)/IrMn have been used to test macroscopic models for exchange anisotropy. The domain-wall model incorporating a rotatable anisotropy field is the one that best fits the data. All fields of interfacial origin extracted from the fits show the predicted 1/t dependence with the FM layer thickness. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.