Off-Diagonal Magnetoimpedance in NiFe–Au–NiFe Layered Film and Its Application to Linear Magnetic Sensors

Abstract

We have measured the field dependence of the off-diagonal impedance in the megahertz frequency range for a NiFe-Au-NiFe layered film using a helical microcoil. The film and the coil were deposited by means of radio-frequency sputtering, and a transverse anisotropy in magnetic layers was established by applying a dc magnetic field during the deposition and by postproduction annealing. The film had 5 mm length, 50 /spl mu/m width, and 1.5 /spl mu/m total thickness. The helical microcoil had 23 turns with a 50 /spl mu/m turn width. We applied high-frequency excitation by means of the coil current and measured the induced voltage across the film stripe. This voltage response is directly proportional to the off-diagonal component of the total impedance tensor. We found that the plots of the real and imaginary parts of the off-diagonal impedance, as functions of the applied dc magnetic field, are antisymmetrical with respect to the field direction. The dc bias current through the film plays an important role: without the bias current, the measured signal is very small and irregular. The field antisymmetry demonstrated by the off-diagonal impedance can be utilized in highly sensitive and linear magnetic sensors, and we discuss the principles of operation of such sensors here.