Field-controllable exchange bias in epitaxial Fe films grown on GaAs

Abstract

We report that exchange bias observed in epitaxial Fe films grown on GaAs (001) substrates can be controlled by the direction of the cooling field. The effect is investigated by measuring the shift of field-cooled hysteresis loops toward specific field directions, as revealed by field scans of the planar Hall resistance at 3K. The value of the unidirectional magnetic anisotropy corresponding to such field-controllable exchange is obtained from the angular dependence of the planar Hall effect. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4754622]