The processes of incoherent spin rotation and of domain nucleation and growth are strongly governed by the dislocation structure of the NiO/NiFe bilayer. It was found that this dislocation influence is effective even for ferromagnetic films with almost zero magnetostriction because the influence on the bilayer reversal is realized through the antiferromagnetic layer. Therefore, in order to describe the reversal of the exchange-biased film it is necessary to take into account the details of the crystalline and spin structures of the antiferromagnetic layer.
The Russian co-workers gratefully acknowledge a research grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research No. 97-02-16879.