Magnetization reversal properties of FeNiOFe(001) trilayers

A. Brambilla, P. Biagioni, M. Portalupi, M. Zani, M. Finazzi, L. Duò, P. Vavassori, R. Bertacco, and F. Ciccacci
Phys. Rev. B 72, 174402 – Published 1 November 2005

Abstract

We have investigated the magnetic properties of epitaxially grown FeNiOFe(001) trilayers for different thickness combinations of the NiO spacer and of the Fe overlayer. The magneto optical Kerr effect has been exploited to study the in-plane magnetization reversal processes in the iron layers. Further information has been obtained by means of spin polarized inverse photoemission spectroscopy. We show the existence of a critical value tc of the NiO thickness tAFM for the magnetic coupling between the Fe layers at zero applied field: for tAFM<tc the magnetization directions align perpendicularly, while the alignment is collinear for thicker spacers. A phenomenological model has been developed to reproduce the reversal properties of the trilayer and determine the dependence of the coupling energy between the Fe ferromagnetic layers as a function of their relative orientation. We find that the observed behavior cannot be reproduced by a Slonczewski’s coupling term, but rather it is obtained when a biquadratic term is employed.

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  • Received 5 August 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.72.174402

©2005 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. Brambilla*, P. Biagioni, M. Portalupi, M. Zani, M. Finazzi, and L. Duò

  • INFM, Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy

P. Vavassori

  • INFM, S3, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Ferrara, Via Paradiso 12, 44100 Ferrara, Italy

R. Bertacco and F. Ciccacci

  • L-NESS, Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Via Anzani 52, 22100 Como, Italy

  • *Electronic address: alberto.brambilla@polimi.it
  • Also at INFM, Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy.

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Issue

Vol. 72, Iss. 17 — 1 November 2005

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