Magnetoresistive characteristics of multilayered wire arrays

Wire arrays comprising three types of giant magnetoresistive (GMR) multilayers were fabricated by high-resolution electron-beam lithography and lift-off techniques. For antiferromagnetic coupling-type GMR multilayer, a magnetic field applied parallel to the stripes produced larger magnetoresistance (MR) change and a higher response than in corresponding multilayered film with no patterns. In contrast, the wire structures worsened the MR characteristics of different coercive fields-type and spin-valve-type GMR materials.