Magnetic properties of antiphase domain boundaries

Antiphase domains in ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic oxides may be coupled antiparallel by superexchange at the antiphase boundary. Monte Carlo simulations on an array of 1600 vector spins show how these antiferromagnetic defects influence the magnetisation curve: two 90 Bloch walls of opposite chirality on either side of the boundary impede the approach to saturation. and hysteresis is induced by the defect. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.