Magnetic properties of exchange coupled NiFe/CoO/NiFe trilayers

Abstract
A trilayer system consisting of an antiferromagnet (CoO) sandwiched by two ferromagnetic (NiFe=Ni81Fe19) layers of unequal thicknesses has been studied. Four different spin structures have been observed. The temperature dependencies of the exchange fields (HE) and coercivity (Hc) have been determined. The layer order between the antiferromagnet and the ferromagnet dictates the exchange field temperature behavior.