Effects of surface-roughness related process parameters on the magnetoresistive characteristics of spin valves

Author

Park, Chang-Min ; Kyeong-Ik Min ; Shin, Kyung Ho

Author_Institution

Div. of Metals, Korea Inst. of Sci. & Technol., Seoul, South Korea

Volume

32

Issue

5

fYear

1996

fDate

9/1/1996 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

3422

Lastpage

3424

Abstract

The low-field magnetoresistance behavior was investigated for sputter-deposited NiFe 80 Å/Cu 28 Å/NiFe 40 Å/FeMn 150 Å spin valve multilayers under various process conditions (buffer layers, argon sputtering pressure, and Cu-sputtering power). Topological dependence of MR characteristics was observed by atomic force microscope (AFM) surface analyses. We discuss the effects of the process parameters on the bias field and the field sensitivity in terms of topological coupling associated with the interface roughness. In addition, we could control the MR characteristics utilizing a combination of the process parameters which significantly affect the surface and interface roughness of multilayers

Keywords

atomic force microscopy; iron alloys; magnetic multilayers; magnetoresistance; nickel alloys; sputtered coatings; surface topography; NiFe-Cu-NiFe-FeMn; atomic force microscopy; bias field; buffer layer; field sensitivity; interface roughness; low-field magnetoresistance; process parameters; spin valve; sputter-deposited multilayer; surface roughness; topological coupling; Argon; Atomic force microscopy; Atomic layer deposition; Buffer layers; Magnetic multilayers; Magnetoresistance; Rough surfaces; Spin valves; Sputtering; Surface roughness;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.538644

Filename

538644