https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-07243-7
Regular Article
Combined strain-controlled exchange bias blocking temperature in CoFeB/IrMn bilayers with antiferromagnetic fourfold anisotropy
1
School of Science, Shenyang University of Technology, 110870, Shenyang, China
2
Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Northeastern University, 110819, Shenyang, China
3
Foshan Graduate School of Innovation, Northeastern University, 528311, Foshan, China
a
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b
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Received:
23
August
2025
Accepted:
19
December
2025
Published online:
17
January
2026
Abstract
We performed Monte Carlo simulations to explore the behaviors of the microscopically fourfold magnetocrystalline anisotropy and macroscopically Néel temperature (TN) of an antiferromagnetic IrMn layer as well as the exchange bias blocking temperature (TB) in CoFeB/IrMn bilayers under combined in-plane biaxial and out-of-plane uniaxial strains. We demonstrate that the fourfold symmetric anisotropy remains robust, with both its strength and easy-axis orientation being tunable. The exchange coupling constants between Mn–Mn pairs exhibit long-range characteristics. Through precise strain control, TN can be significantly enhanced from 510 to 1346 K, and TB can be increased from 420 to 1050 K. Additionally, these strains can diminish or even completely eliminate exchange bias and coercivity. This study elucidates the mechanisms underlying microscopic magnetism, TN, and TB via strain control, while also proposing a promising strategy for utilizing multi-dimensional strain engineering to advance the practical applications of room-temperature or high-temperature exchange-bias-based spintronic devices.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
