Thermal fluctuation aftereffect model for some systems with ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic coupling

Abstract

A theoretical model is developed for, and applied to, some coupled-film systems consisting of an underlying ferromagnetic thin film and a surface layer of antiferromagnetic material viewed as an assembly of uniaxial small particles. The magnetization of the film biases, and is in turn biased by, the particles through an interfacial exchange coupling. Above a blocking temperature, dependent on size, particles are able to reverse rapidly due to thermal fluctuation, thus exhibiting superparamagnetic response. By assuming a physically reasonable distribution of particle sizes, good agreement is obtained between computed curves for temperature and frequency dependence of hysteresis loop displacement and coercivity based on this model and corresponding experimental results for oxidized Permalloy films, reported in a companion paper. This thermal fluctuation model is also applied successfully to the case of oxidized cobalt films as studied by Schlenker. In this case it is necessary to include in the analysis the temperature variations of the antiferromagnetic anisotropy energy and of the interfacial exchange coupling.