From ferromagnetic–ferromagnetic to ferromagnetic–antiferromagnetic exchange coupling in NiFe/MnNi bilayers

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Abstract
The effect of the growth conditions and the Mn concentration on the exchange coupling between a ferromagnetic (F) NiFe and an antiferromagnetic (AF) MnNi layers were studied. We found that an F/AF coupling appears in the bilayers when the Mn concentration is more than 45%. Beyond this critical concentration the exchange field shows a maximum then decreases. The correlation between the exchange field and the microstructure of the film is discussed. We show that: (1) the enhancement of the exchange field is associated with the enhancement of the antiferromagnetic grain size and (2) the existence of the exchange field is associated with a third x-ray peak which may be an FeMnNi ternary allow type. This result was associated with interfacial diffusion confirmed by magnetization variation measurements before and after annealing.