Exchange bias as a probe of the incommensurate spin-density wave in epitaxial Fe/Cr(001).
We report clear multiple period oscillations in the temperature dependence of exchange bias in an Fe thin film exchange coupled to a neighboring Cr film. The oscillations arise due to an incommensurate spin-density wave in the Cr, with wave vector perpendicular to the Fe/Cr(001) interface. The exchange bias and coercivity allow for a determination of the extent of the thermally driven wavelength expansion, the (strain-suppressed) spin-flip transition temperature, and the Cr Néel temperature, which show a crossover from bulklike to finite-size behavior at a Cr thickness of approximately 1100 A. The data are consistent with a transition from a transverse to longitudinal wave on cooling.
Parker
J S
JS
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
Wang
L
L
Steiner
K A
KA
Crowell
P A
PA
Leighton
C
C