Exchange bias effect in Ni50Mn35In15/BiFeO3 heterostructure thin film

In this study, we studied the exchange bias (EB) effect in Ni50Mn35In15 and Ni50Mn35In15/BiFeO3 heterostructure thin films deposited onto Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate using dc/rf magnetron sputtering. In pure Ni50Mn35In15 film, the shift of the hysteresis loop from the origin up to 110 Oe was observed at 10 K due to coexistence of FM-AFM interface. On the other hand, the shift of the hysteresis loop was significantly enhanced (480 Oe) in Ni50Mn35In15/BiFeO3 heterostructure thin film at 10 K in field cooled. Further, a high exchange bias field of 80 Oe was found at room temperature in Ni50Mn35In15/BiFeO3 heterostructure thin film. The observed exchange bias field (HE) in this heterostructure thin film was attributed to the presence of a pinned and uncompensated spins in the antiferromagnetic at the interface, and induced by the interface exchange coupling between Ni50Mn35In15 and BiFeO3. This behaviour is an additional property for the Ni50Mn35In15/BiFeO3 heterostructure thin film to be used in various other magnetic memory devise applications.