Magnetic Yoking and Tunable Interactions in FePt-Based Hard/Soft Bilayers

Gilbert, Dustin A.; Liao, Jung-Wei; Kirby, Brian J.; Winklhofer, Michael; Lai, Chih-Huang und Liu, Kai (2016): Magnetic Yoking and Tunable Interactions in FePt-Based Hard/Soft Bilayers. In: Scientific Reports, Vol. 6, 32842

Abstract

Magnetic interactions in magnetic nanostructures are critical to nanomagnetic and spintronic explorations. Here we demonstrate an extremely sensitive magnetic yoking effect and tunable interactions in FePt based hard/soft bilayers mediated by the soft layer. Below the exchange length, a thin soft layer strongly exchange couples to the perpendicular moments of the hard layer;above the exchange length, just a few nanometers thicker, the soft layer moments turn in-plane and act to yoke the dipolar fields from the adjacent hard layer perpendicular domains. The evolution from exchange to dipolar-dominated interactions is experimentally captured by first-order reversal curves, the Delta M method, and polarized neutron reflectometry, and confirmed by micromagnetic simulations. These findings demonstrate an effective yoking approach to design and control magnetic interactions in wide varieties of magnetic nanostructures and devices.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Geosciences > Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Subjects: 500 Science > 550 Earth sciences and geology
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• Language: English