Revealing the reversible rotation of magnetization in exchange-coupled composite media switching

We present a study of the magnetic reversal mechanism for exchange coupled composite perpendicular media, i.e., hard granular layer/exchange-coupling layer (ECL)/soft layer (SL) systems, without soft underlayer. Using a vibrating sample magnetometer, the out-of-plane and in-plane components of the magnetization are monitored simultaneously, while sweeping an external out-of-plane magnetic field. The in-plane signal reveals the reversible rotation of the magnetization during the switching process. The amplitude of this rotation is correlated with the variations in coercivity and angular dependence of the remanent coercivity for different ECL and SL thicknesses.