Title :
Thermal degradation of exchange biased films in spin-valves
Author :
McMichael, R.D. ; Egelhoff, W.F., Jr. ; Bennett, L.H.
Author_Institution :
Nat. Inst. of Stand. & Technol., Gaithersburg, MD, USA
fDate :
11/1/1995 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
As part of an investigation of the thermal stability of spin valve structures, ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and SQUID magnetometry measurements were made on an exchange biased film, Cu50Ni50/13.1Cu 2.0/Co 2.1/Ni80Fe20/2.7Fe50Mn50/9.2 Cu 2.4 nm, as a function of annealing temperature up to 550°C. The measurements show an enhancement in the exchange bias surface energy for annealing temperatures above 250°C accompanied by increased FMR linewidth and reduced geff which are attributed to increased inhomogeneity of the exchange anisotropy. At temperatures as low as 200°C, annealing produces large increases in moment per unit area which are indicative of diffusion
Keywords :
annealing; cobalt; copper; copper alloys; diffusion; exchange interactions (electron); ferromagnetic resonance; iron alloys; magnetic anisotropy; magnetic moments; magnetic multilayers; magnetic thin films; manganese alloys; metallic superlattices; nickel alloys; surface energy; thermal stability; 200 degC; 250 degC; 550 degC; Cu50Ni50-Cu-Co-Ni80Fe20 -Fe50Mn50-Cu; CuNi-Cu-Co-NiFe-FeMn-Cu; FMR linewidth; SQUID magnetometry; annealing temperature; diffusion; exchange anisotropy; exchange bias surface energy; exchange biased films; ferromagnetic resonance; inhomogeneity; magnetic moment; spin-valves; thermal degradation; thermal stability; Annealing; Iron; Magnetic anisotropy; Magnetic resonance; Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; SQUIDs; Spin valves; Temperature; Thermal degradation; Thermal stability;
Journal_Title :
Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on
