Atomistic calculation of the thickness and temperature dependence of exchange coupling through a dilute magnetic oxide

TL;DR

This study uses atomistic simulations to analyze how oxide layer thickness and temperature influence exchange coupling between magnetic layers, revealing exponential decay with thickness and strong temperature dependence relevant for magnetic recording.

Contribution

It provides a detailed atomistic understanding of exchange coupling dependence on oxide thickness and temperature, without assuming magnetic pinholes.

Findings

Exchange coupling decays exponentially with oxide thickness.

Temperature significantly affects exchange coupling strength.

Coupling behavior impacts heat-assisted magnetic recording dynamics.

Abstract

The exchange coupling of two magnetic layers via a diffuse oxide interlayer is studied with an atomistic spin model. We investigate the effect of magnetic concentration and oxide layer thickness on the effective exchange coupling strength and find an exponential dependence of the coupling strength on the oxide thickness without the need for magnetic pinholes. Furthermore we show that exchange coupling has a strong temperature dependence which is significant for the reversal dynamics during heat assisted magnetic recording.