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

Abstract

The low-field magnetoresistance behavior was investigated for sputter-deposited NiFe 80 /spl Aring//Cu 28 /spl Aring//NiFe 40 /spl Aring//FeMn 150 /spl Aring/ 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.