A giant magnetoresistance sensor for high magnetic field measurements

Abstract

We used giant magnetoresistance in a magnetic field sensor able to measure large fields of up to several kG. We deposit spin valves with a magnetic multilayer with perpendicular anisotropy as one ferromagnet and a material with in-plane anisotropy as the other ferromagnet. For magnetic fields along the film normal, the multilayer’s magnetization is fixed perpendicular while the magnetic layer with in-plane anisotropy is rotated towards out-of-plane magnetization. The device response is nearly linear with applied field and determines both the magnitude and sign of the field, making it attractive for measuring large magnetic fields.