Integration of magnetoresistive sensors with atomic force microscopy cantilevers for scanning magnetoresistance microscopy applications

Various techniques of scanning magnetoresistance microscopy (SMRM) have been previously developed to enable the simultaneous imaging of surface topography and stray magnetic field distributions in order to overcome limitations of magnetic force microscopy (MFM) technique. GMR read-heads, micro-hall devices and TMR sensors integrated on piezoelectric stage have been used but lack of acceptable spatial resolution for imaging. To overcome this, magnetoresistive sensors are here integrated into standard atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers and used to simultaneously map both topography and magnetic fields.