POLARIZED NEUTRON REFLECTOMETRY STUDY OF AN EXCHANGE BIASED FE3O4 NIOMULTILAYER/

Polarized neutron reflectometry was performed on a [Fe3O4/NiO](x15) mu ltilayer, molecular beam epitaxy grown on a (001) MgO substrate, in bo th exchange biased and nonexchange biased states. The Fe3O4 layers exh ibit a depth-dependent magnetic profile characterized by a change in t he magnetization near the Fe3O4/NiO interfaces. In the exchange biased state, measurements performed in the two saturated states of the magn etic hysteresis loop reveal magnetic differences in the Fe3O4, possibl y due to the interfacial domain wall formation in the ferromagnetic la yer. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.