Thickness-dependent cooperative aging in polycrystalline films of antiferromagnet CoO

We demonstrate that thin polycrystalline films of antiferromagnet CoO, in bilayers with ferromagnetic Permalloy, exhibit slow power-law aging of their magnetization state. The aging characteristics are remarkably similar to those previously observed in thin epitaxial ${\mathrm{Fe}}₅₀{\mathrm{Mn}}₅₀$ films, indicating that these behaviors are likely generic to ferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayers. In very thin films, aging is observed over a wide temperature range. In thicker CoO, aging effects become reduced at low temperatures. Aging entirely disappears for large CoO thicknesses. We also investigate the dependence of aging characteristics on temperature and magnetic history. Analysis shows that the observed behaviors are inconsistent with the Neel-Arrhenius model of thermal activation, and are instead indicative of cooperative aging of the antiferromagnet. Our results provide new insights into the mechanisms controlling the stationary states and dynamics of ferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayers, and potentially other frustrated magnetic systems.