Field‐Free Exchange‐Bias Reversal in a Substrate‐Directed Self‐Assembled 2‐(1‐3)‐Type Ferrimagnet/Antiferromagnet Nanocomposite
ABSTRACT Self‐assembled nanocomposites typically form through the phase separation of immiscible components, yet controllable synthesis with tailored functionalities remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate a substrate‐directed self‐assembled 2‐(1‐3)‐structured nanocomposite via topotactic phase separation, preserving the crystallographic orientation from the substrate. It comprises a horizontal antiferromagnetic (AFM) rocksalt layer (2) at the substrate and vertical rocksalt nanopillars (1) embedded in a ferrimagnetic (FiM) spinel matrix (3). The nanopillars arise from kinetic trapping of late‐arriving rocksalt species unable to diffuse through the growing spinel layer, forming “frozen diffusion channels” under continuous pulsed laser deposition. Importantly, the comparable magnitudes of AFM anisotropy and AFM‐FiM interfacial exchange coupling enable two phenomena: switching between coercivity enhancement and exchange bias regimes, and field‐free manipulation of AFM order. This approach offers precise control of magnetic interactions in self‐assembled nanocomposites for advanced spintronic applications.
Authors
- S. C. Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5943-6892)
- Hao Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5567-3083)
- Ji Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1308-3226)
- Z. Lin
- Shuya Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4904-7849)
- Liang Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1030-6997)
- Yanwei Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3610-9385)
- Jiachang Bi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7374-0665)
- Changjian Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3548-7157)
- Wanbiao Hu
- Jiayi Qin
- Yihan Lei
- Jiyang Xie
- Sheng'an Yang
- Jiangnan Li
- Qingming Chen
- Yang He
- Wenyan Zha
- Hui Zhang
Institutions
- Kunming University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Yunnan University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Southwest Forestry University (CN)
- Southern University of Science and Technology (CN)
- National Engineering Research Center of Electromagnetic Radiation Control Materials (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Ningbo Institute of Industrial Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2026-01-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202528760
- Primary Topic
- Magnetic properties of thin films
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China