Exchange bias and uncompensated spins in a Fe/Cr(100) bilayer

Abstract

We have investigated the effect of the field cooling on the exchange bias and the coercivity in an exchange-biased Fe/Cr(100) bilayer using SQUID magnetometer. After the field cooling, magnetization shifted upwards, indicative of surplus magnetic moments, which could be interpreted as an evidence of pinned and uncompensated Cr magnetic moments induced by the cooling field. Interestingly enough, we also discovered that not all the pinned and uncompensated spins seem to be involved in producing the exchange bias, although they contribute to increasing the coercivity and inducing the surplus magnetization.