Driving the polar spin reorientation transition of ultrathin ferromagnets with antiferromagnetic–ferromagnetic phase transition of nearby FeRh alloy film

Abstract

We show that in-plane to out-of-plane magnetization switching of a ferromagnetic layer can be driven by antiferromagnetic–ferromagnetic phase transition in a nearby FeRh system. For FeRh/Au/FeAu trilayers, the impact of the magnetic phase transition of FeRh onto the perpendicular magnetization of monoatomic FeAu superlattices is transferred across the Au spacer layer via interlayer magnetic coupling. The polar spin reorientation process of the FeAu spins driven by the magnetic phase transition in the FeRh reveals its major features; namely it is reversible and displays hysteresis.