Exchange bias and diffusion processes in laser annealed CoFeB/IrMn thin films

•The effect of laser annealing on exchange-coupled FM/AFM layer systems was studied.•The layer stack Ta/Ru/IrMn/CoFeB/Ta was grown on Si/SiO2 by magnetron sputtering.•The magnetic properties evolution is correlated with results of XPS depth profiling.•XPS depth profiling shows that the exchange bias is independent on the B migration.•Increasing laser intensity and decreasing scanning speed result in Mn diffusion.