Compositional dependence of antiferromagnetic anisotropy in IrMn/CoFe exchange bias systems

Abstract

We report on a study of the effect of Ir content on the loop shift (HEX) and anisotropy constant (KAF) in the CoFe/IrMn system. The sample structure investigated was Si/NiCr(5 nm)/Ru(5 nm)/IrxMn1-x/CoFe(2 nm)/Ta(3 nm). All samples were produced by sputtering and the Ir and Mn levels were varied using a specially made composite target and deposited at ∼120 °C. The composition of the samples was analyzed using energy dispersive x-ray analysis. KAF was calculated from thermal activation measurements using the York Protocols. A plateau in HEX was found for Ir levels between 16– 20.5 at. %. HEX was found to decrease by 50% on either side of this window. This result is consistent with previous studies where the enhancement of HEX was attributed to an increase in the atomic ordering of the IrMn alloy. However, KAF decreases linearly with increasing Ir concentration and does not appear to correlate with the change in HEX.