Entanglement of lock-in transition and exchange bias in Co(Cr0.9Co0.1)2O4

Abstract We report here the structural, magnetic and exchange bias in a well characterized single phase sample of Co(Cr 0.9 Co 0.1 ) 2 O 4 . A pronounced signature of thermal hysteresis in temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility curves is obtained across the lock-in transition T L ≃ 10 K . Concomitantly, exchange bias is observed only below the lock-in transition ( T L ≃ 10 K ). This indicates a possible coupling of exchange bias to the lock-in transition in this system.