Amorphous TbFeCo thin films sputter deposited at room temperature onthermally oxidized Si substrate are found to exhibit strong perpendicularmagnetic anisotropy (PMA). Atom probe tomography (APT), scanning transmissionelectron microscopy (STEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) mappinghave revealed two nanoscale amorphous phases with different Tb atomicpercentages distributed within the amorphous film. Exchange bias accompanied bybistable magneto-resistance states has been uncovered near room temperature bymagnetization and magneto-transport measurements. The exchange anisotropyoriginates from the exchange interaction between the ferrimagnetic andferromagnetic components corresponding to the two amorphous phases. This studyprovides a platform for exchange bias and magneto-resistance switching usingsingle-layer amorphous ferrimagnetic thin films that require no epitaxialgrowth.
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