Exchange bias and spin glass behavior in biphasic NiFe2O4/NiO thin films

Magnetic exchange bias and coercivity of nanogranular NiFe2O4/NiO thin films, prepared using flow-stabilized microplasmas and post-deposition annealing, have been investigated as a function of ferrimagnet/antiferromagnet phase fraction, grain size, and temperature. Exchange bias (EB) and vertical shifts in hysteresis loops observed in the as-deposited and low-T annealed (≤600 °C) films were attributed to exchange coupling between nanocrystalline NiFe2O4 (~8-10 nm) and a structurally-disordered spin glass (SG)-like phase. At higher annealing temperature (850 °C), the observed EB was found to arise from exchange coupling between NiFe2O4 and NiO, rather than a SG phase, most likely due to reduction of structurally-disordered interfaces and a substantial increase in NiFe2O4 grain size (~26 nm).