How Antiferromagnetism Drives the Magnetization of a Ferromagnetic Thin Film to Align Out of Plane

Interfacial moments of an antiferromagnet are known for their prominent effects of induced coercivity enhancement and exchange bias in ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic exchange-coupled systems. Here we report that the unpinned moments of an antiferromagnetic face-centered-cubic Mn layer can drive the magnetization of an adjacent Fe film perpendicular owing to a formation of intrinsic perpendicular anisotropy. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism and hysteresis loops show establishment of perpendicular magnetization on Fe/Mn bilayers while temperature was decreased. The fact that the magnitude of perpendicular anisotropy of the Fe layer is enhanced proportionally to the out-of-plane oriented orbital moment of the Mn unpinned layer, rather than that of Fe itself, gives evidence for the Mn unpinned moments to be the origin of the established perpendicular magnetization. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.117203