15th Magnetic Materials Center Seminar
April 27, 2006, 9:00 am
7th floor seminar room, Sengen

Magnetic properties of nanogranular films composed of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic materials
T. Furubayashi

Exchange anisotropy, which arises from exchange couplings at the interface between ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) substances, was first found in Co fine particles coated with CoO. In recent years, exchange anisotropy in FM-AFM bilayer films has become of great importance in view of the applications to various parts in magnetic recording and spntrinics devices, which include MR heads, MRAM, recording media and so on. In this talk, I report magnetic properties of granular films consisting of nanoparticles of iron, a ferromagnetic (FM) metal, and an insulator MnF2, which is antiferromagnetic (AFM) below the Neel temperature TN = 67 K. Magnetic properties were examined at temperatures below and above TN by magnetization measurements and Mossbauer spectroscopy, which was also utilized for the characterization of the samples. Effects of exchange coupling between Fe and MnF2 on magnetic properties of granular films are described. I would also discuss possible applications of such FM-AFM granular films by utilizing the enhancement of magnetic anisotropy.