Magnetic Field Switching of Exchange Bias in a Metallic FM/AFM Heterostructure at Room Temperature

The exchange bias effect, which causes a shift in the ferromagnetic hysteresis loop due to magnetic coupling with an adjacent antiferromagnetic layer, has been a key area of study for fundamental research and spintronic applications. This effect is known to be static once established through a field cooling procedure and is difficult to manipulate isothermally. Here we present the first room temperature field switching of interlayer magnetic coupling at the metallic heterointerface between a ferromagnet and antiferromaget. Specifically, we demonstrate that the exchange bias can be systematically switched by manipulating the global time-reversal-symmetry-broken antiferromagnetic order of Mn3Sn via both magnetic field sweeping and field cooling. Furthermore, we confirm that the magnitude and sign of the interlayer coupling can be tuned by selecting the ferromagnet. These findings provide a novel approach for controlling the magnetic state of ferromagnets and functional antiferromagnets, paving the way for advancing spintronic technologies using antiferromagnets.