Abstract
The magnetic domain structure of stepped ferromagnetic Ni81Fe19 films, exchange coupled to antiferromagnetic α-Fe2O3, has been studied using x-ray photoemission electron microscopy combined with x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Annealing the α-Fe2O3/Ni81Fe19 bilayers in a magnetic field, applied parallel or perpendicular to the step edges, results in a significant increase in the domain size compared to the as-grown bilayer. Subsequent zero-field annealing induces spin-relaxation along the crystallographic axes of the α-Fe2O3. The spin-relaxation process is found to depend on the magnetic field direction during annealing with the domain structure determined by a competition between the step-induced uniaxial anisotropy and the exchange anisotropy.
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