The thickness dependence of the helical antiferromagnetic ordering temperature T(N) was studied for thin Ho metal films by resonant magnetic soft x-ray and neutron diffraction. In contrast with the Curie temperature of ferromagnets, T(N) was found to decrease with film thickness d according to [T(N)(infinity)-T(N)(d)]/T(N)(d) proportional variant (d-d(0))(-lambda(')), where lambda(') is a phenomenological exponent and d(0) is of the order of the bulk magnetic period L(b). These observations are reproduced by mean-field calculations that suggest a linear relationship between d(0) and L(b) in long-period antiferromagnets.

The exchange bias effect refers to the shift of the hysteresis loop of a ferromagnet in direct contact to an antiferromagnet. For applications in spintronics a robust and tunable exchange bias is required. Here we show experimental evidence for a perpendicular exchange bias in a prototypical ferrimagnetic spin valve consisting of DyCo 5 /Ta/Fe 76 Gd 24 , where the DyCo 5 alloy has the role of a hard ferrimagnet and Fe 76 Gd 24 is a soft ferrimagnet. Taking advantage of the tunability of the exchange coupling between the ferrimagnetic layers by means of thickness variation of an interlayer spacer, we demonstrate that perpendicular unidirectional anisotropy can be induced with desirable absolute values at room temperature, without making use of a field-cooling procedure. moreover, the shift of the hysteresis loop can be reversed with relatively low magnetic fields of several hundred oersteds. This flexibility in controlling a robust perpendicular exchange bias at room temperature may be of crucial importance for applications.

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We report on the design and construction of a new diffractometer for soft x-ray resonant magnetic scattering which has been built at the Ruhr-University Bochum. The ultrahigh vacuum-compatible diffractometer comprises a two-circle goniometer and works in horizontal scattering geometry. Rotation of the detector and sample is realized by two differentially pumped rotating platforms with motors and gears external to the vacuum. The sample environment consists of a closed-cycle He cryostat that allows heating up to 600 K and applying a magnetic field of ±2.5 kOe. All functions of the experimental setup have been extensively tested at the BESSY II Synchrotron (beamline PM3). The experimental results demonstrate the performance of the instrument.

We studied superconducting V layers deposited on an antiferromagnetically coupled [Fe(2)V(11)](20) superlattice. The parallel upper critical magnetic field exhibits an anomalous T dependence up to the ferromagnetic saturation field of the superlattice, indicating that the superconducting transition temperature T(S) decreases when rotating the relative sublattice magnetization directions of the superlattice from antiparallel to parallel. This proves that the pair breaking effect of a Fe2 layer is reduced if at a distance of 1.5 nm a second Fe2 layer with antiparallel spin orientation exists.