Grain diameter-dependent tuning of exchange anisotropy in the ion-beam sputtered Co-based full Heusler alloy coupled with antiferromagnet

Abstract

We report an investigation into the substantially large and customizable exchange anisotropy (HEA) and coercivity (HC) in a set of bottom-pinned Ir7Mn93/Co2FeAl bilayer heterostructures fabricated using ion-beam sputtering at room temperature (RT) in the presence of an in-situ in-plane static magnetic field of 1 kOe. This modulation is achieved by controlling the microstructural parameter (i.e., grain diameter) of the antiferromagnetic (AF) Ir7Mn93 (IrMn) layer. These bilayers revealed strong positive exchange anisotropy (PEA) at RT, while negative exchange anisotropy (NEA) became evident when field-cooled to 15 K in the presence of 3 kOe. By systematically controlling the AF grain diameter from ∼5.39 to ∼6.94 nm, the PEA and NEA were found to increase by a factor of ∼2.1 and ∼1.8, respectively. However, once the AF grain diameter exceeded the necessary threshold for thermal stability, further enhancement in grain diameter above ∼6.94 nm led to a reduction in both HEA and HC. This decrease was attributed to a reduction in pinning centers at the AF/FM (ferromagnet) interface. The training data are fitted by utilizing various theoretical models, such as thermal relaxation, Binek's model, and spin relaxation model. The spin relaxation model was found to be applicable to fit the complete range of training data, encompassing both thermal and athermal decay, within the context of frozen and rotatable spins.