Giant Exchange-Bias-Like Effect at Low Cooling Fields Induced by Pinned Magnetic Domains in Y₂NiIrO₆ Double Perovskite

Exchange bias (EB) is highly desirable for widespread technologies. Generally, conventional exchange-bias heterojunctions require excessively large cooling fields for sufficient bias fields, which are generated by pinned spins at the interface of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic layers. It is crucial for applicability to obtain considerable exchange-bias fields with minimum cooling fields. Here, an exchange-bias-like effect is reported in a double perovskite, Y₂NiIrO₆, which shows long-range ferrimagnetic ordering below 192 K. It displays a giant bias-like field of 1.1 T with a cooling field of only 15 Oe at 5 K. This robust phenomenon appears below 170 K. This fascinating bias-like effect is the secondary effect of the vertical shifts of the magnetic loops, which is attributed to the pinned magnetic domains due to the combination of strong spin–orbit coupling on Ir, and antiferromagnetically coupled Ni- and Ir-sublattices. The pinned moments in Y₂NiIrO₆ are present throughout the full volume, not just at the interface as in conventional bilayer systems.