GMR enhancement in hybrid spin valves for CIP geometries

Summary form only given. A goal in research into giant magnetoresistance (GMR) is to achieve large GMR whilst maintaining device stability and sensitivity. Dual spin valves (DSVs) have a larger GMR output than single spin valves due to the increased number of interfaces for electron scattering (W.F. Egelhof et al, 1995). Synthetic antiferromagnets (SAFs) are often used in DSVs to assist pinning and improve device stability; however, current may be shunted through these additional layers so that the full potential GMR output is not achieved. Removal of the SAF layers to form a simple DSV results in an unstable structure with poor pinning and large hysteresis in the MR response. It is the purpose of this paper to describe a hybrid device which solves this problem.