On the mechanism of irradiation-enhanced exchange bias

By means of layer-resolved ion irradiation, the mechanisms involved in the irradiation-driven modifications of the exchange bias effect in $\chem{NiFe/FeMn}$ bilayers have been investigated. It is shown that not only the locations of the defects but also the magnetic coupling between both layers during the irradiation process is of crucial importance. This requires an extension of current models accounting for defects in exchange bias systems