Probing Interface Magnetism in the FeMn/NiFe Exchange Bias System Using Magnetic Second-Harmonic Generation

Second-harmonic generation magneto-optic Kerr effect (SHMOKE) experiments, sensitive to buried interfaces, were performed on a polycrystalline FeMn/NiFe bilayer in which areas with different exchange bias fields were prepared using 5 keV He ion irradiation. Both reversible and irreversible uncompensated spins, localized and measured in the antiferromagnetic layer close to the interface with the ferromagnetic layer, are related to the exchange bias field.