Exchange bias in nearly perpendicularly coupled ferromagnetic/ferromagnetic system

Exchange bias phenomena appear not only in ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic systems but also in ferromagnetic/ferromagnetic systems in which two layers are nearly perpendicularly coupled. We investigated the origin of the symmetry-breaking mechanism and the relationship between the exchange bias and the systems energy parameters. We compared the results of computational Monte Carlo simulations with those of theoretical model calculation. We found that the exchange bias exhibited nonlinear behaviors, including sign reversal and singularities. These complicated behaviors were caused by two distinct magnetization processes depending on the interlayer coupling strength. The exchange bias reached a maximum at the transition between the two magnetization processes.