Exchange Bias Effect in Full-Heusler Alloy Co$_2$Cr$_0.6$Fe$_0.4$Al Epitaxial Thin Films

We fabricated trilayer structures consisting of a Co-based full-Heusler alloy Co
₂
Cr
_0.6
Fe
_0.4
Al (CCFA) layer, a Ru ultrathin film, and a Co
₉₀
Fe
₁₀
layer, and demonstrated well-established antiferromagnetic coupling in the fabricated structures. Furthermore, we observed a clear exchange bias effect in a CCFA/Ru/Co
₉₀
Fe
₁₀
/IrMn layer structure with a typical exchange bias field of about 430 Oe at room temperature. These results indicate that the use of a CCFA thin film in antiferromagnetically coupled trilayers is advantageous for obtaining a strong exchange bias field