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An abrupt transition of the interfacial exchange coupling from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic was observed in the interface of perpendicularly magnetized L10-MnGa/Fe1-xCox epitaxial bilayers when x was around 25%. By considering the special band structure of the MnGa alloy, we present a model explaining this transition by the spin-polarization reversal of Fe1-xCox alloys due to the rise of the Fermi level as the Co content increases. The effect of interfacial exchange coupling on the coercive force (Hc) and the spin-dependent tunneling effect in perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (pMTJs) based on the coupled composite were also studied. Changes from the normal spin valve to inverted magnetoresistance loops corresponding to the coupling transition were observed in pMTJs with MnGa/Fe1-xCox as an electrode.

The effects of Mg metallic interlayer on the magnetic properties of thin CoFeB films in MgO/Mg (tMg)/CoFeB (1.2 nm)/Ta structures were studied in this letter. Our experimental result shows that the CoFeB film exhibits perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) when the CoFeB and MgO layers are separated by a metallic Mg layer with a maximum thickness of 0.8 nm. The origin of PMA was discussed by considering the preferential transmission of the Δ1 symmetry preserved by the Mg interlayer in crystallized MgO/Mg/CoFeB/Ta. In addition, the thin Mg interlayer also contributes to enhancing the thermal stability and reducing the effective damping constant and coercivity of the CoFeB film.

To extend density limits in magnetic recording industry, two separate strategies were developed to build the storage bit in last decade, introduction of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and adoption of ferrimagnetism/antiferromagnetism. Meanwhile, these properties significantly improve device performance, such as reducing spin-transfer torque energy consumption and decreasing signal-amplitude-loss. However, materials combining PMA and antiferromagnetism rather than transition-metal/rare-earth system were rarely developed. Here, we develop a new type of ferrimagnetic superlattice exhibiting PMA based on abundant Heusler alloy families. The superlattice is formed by [MnGa/Co2FeAl] unit with their magnetizations antiparallel aligned. The effective anisotropy (Kueff) over 6 Merg/cm3 is obtained, and the SL can be easily built on various substrates with flexible lattice constants. The coercive force, saturation magnetization and Kueff of SLs are highly controllable by varying the thickness of MnGa and Co2FeAl layers. The SLs will supply a new choice for magnetic recording and spintronics memory application such as magnetic random access memory.

We have fabricated bilayer films of tetragonal Heusler-like D022 Mn3Ga and cubic Heusler Co2FeZ (Z = Si and Al) on (100) single-crystalline MgO substrates and investigated their structural and interfacial exchange coupling. The coupling in the Mn3Ga/Co2FeAl bilayer was either ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic, depending on annealing temperature, whereas only antiferromagnetic exchange coupling was observed in the Mn3Ga/Co2FeSi bilayers. The effects of annealing on the structure and coupling strength in the bilayers are discussed.