Magnetic properties and microstructures of Mn−Ir/Ni−Fe exchange biased multilayers on Ta and Cr buffer layers

Abstract

We have investigated the magnetic properties and the microstructures of Mn-Ir/Ni-Fe/(Ta, Cr)/Si exchange biased multilayers. The Mn-Ir/Ni-Fe on a Ta buffer layer exhibited a higher exchange biased field than the Mn-Ir/Ni-Fe on a Cr buffer layer. On the other hand, the Mn-Ir/Ni-Fe on a Cr buffer layer exhibited a higher blocking temperature and was composed of larger grains than Mn-Ir/Ni-Fe on a Ta buffer layer. Both samples had an epitaxial relationship at the interface between the Mn-Ir layer and the Ni-Fe layer due to the generation of misfit dislocation.