Effects of application of axial fields on asymmetric magnetization reversal

Abstract

We observed that asymmetric magnetization reversal (AMR) can be destroyed partially or totally by magnetizing the sample in a sufficiently high magnetic field. The single AMR is not altered for applied fields below +/- 3 Oe. For applied fields between +/- 3 and +/- 250 Oe, the single AMR is increasingly altered by higher fields, but can be restored close to the original state. For fields greater than +/- 300 Oe, the single AMR is destroyed and cannot be restored to its original state by applying a field at room temperature. The experimental results can be explained by means of a metastable domain structure characterized by the induced anisotropy and the exchange anisotropy. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.