Exchange bias on rippled substrates ¢?? step induced uniaxial versus unidirectional anisotropy

The angular dependence of the magnetization reversal curves reflect a complicated behavior due to the competition between uniaxial and unidirectional anisotropy contributions. Here we present an alternative route to study these phenomena by employing rippled substrates prepared by ion erosion. The magnetization reversal behavior of the F layer and the exchange bias system was then investigated by means of magneto-optic Kerr effect. A complete angular dependency of the magnetization reversal behavior has been investigated in both cases and compared to simulations based on a Stoner-Wohlfarth coherent rotation model.