Angular dependence of the exchange bias for the bistable state

The angular dependence of the exchange bias (ADEB) has been investigated in detail when the exchange-coupled ferromagnetic (FM)/antiferromagnetic (AFM) bilayer is in the bistable state. Complete and incomplete jump phenomena were found at the intrinsic easy and hard axes, when they pass through two special positions making the angular deviation of 58.2826° and 121.7174° from the easy axis of the uniaxial anisotropy, respectively. The combination of these different types of the jump phenomena at the intrinsic easy and hard axes yields five distinct types of the ADEB. The physical condition for each type of ADEB is established. Additionally, the extreme value problem of the exchange bias field and coercivity are also discussed, which is an important technological issue in the design of the magnetoresistive and spintronic devices. These results enable us to make a comprehensive understanding of the experimental ADEB curves.