Reversible exchange bias in epitaxial V₂O₃/Ni hybrid magnetic heterostructures

In this work we present a temperature and angular dependent study of the structural and magnetic properties in highly crystalline V₂O₃/Ni/Zr magnetic heterostructure films. Our investigation focuses on the coupling between the ferromagnetic Ni layer and V₂O₃layer which undergoes an antiferromagnetic/paramagnetic phase transition coupled to the structural phase transition of the material at around 150 K. Structural investigations using x-ray diffraction reveal highly crystalline films of a quality which has previously not been reported in the literature. The Ni layers display an absence of in-plane magnetic anisotropy owing to the highly textured (1 1 1) layering of the Ni films on the underlying V₂O₃(0 0 0 1) oriented layer. During the transition we observe a strain related enhancement of the coercivity and the onset of a weak exchange bias for cooling under an external magnetic field. Heating the films to above the transition temperature, the exchange bias in the Ni is removed and can be reversed upon subsequent cooling under an inverted external magnetic field. Using temperature dependent polarized neutron reflectometry we investigate the film structure at the interface, capturing the magnetic and nuclear profiles.