Exchange bias and major coercivity enhancement in strongly-coupled CuO/Co films

The exchange-bias properties of ferromagnetic, either Co or Ni, thin films deposited onto polycrystalline multiferroic CuO are investigated. After field cooling, the CuO/Co magnetization hysteresis loops show exchange bias at temperatures lower than 200 K, while the CuO/Ni system exhibits bias below about 5 K only. It is suggested that the exchange bias of CuO/Co is determined mainly by the magnetization reversal that takes place on the descending branch of the loop. Rather high values of both the interface coupling energy, 0.89 erg/cm2, and coercivity, 2.44 kOe, of the CuO/Co film are obtained at 5 K.