Thickness of the pinned layer as a controlling factor in domain wall formation during training in IrMn-based spin valves
| Autor: | D. J. Tighe, J.C. Eckert, Jun Park, Shannon Watson, P.D. Sparks, Julie A. Borchers, Paul A. Kienzle, Matthew J. Carey, D.K. Draganova, S. D. Eisenberg, C. M. Furjanic |
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| Rok vydání: | 2008 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Applied Physics. 103:07C111 |
| ISSN: | 1089-7550 0021-8979 |
| DOI: | 10.1063/1.2837506 |
| Popis: | Studies of CoFe-based spin valves with antiferromagnetic IrMn layers as thin as 1.6nm have demonstrated that a domain wall parallel to the surface develops in the pinned layer after training at the magnetoresistance (MR) maximum. To investigate the effects of domain wall formation on the MR, we have studied the depth profile of the vector magnetization in comparable spin valves, with pinned ferromagnetic (FM) layer thicknesses, from 1to15nm, using polarized neutron reflectivity. At the maximum MR achieved after training, the antiparallel magnetization of the pinned layer, in a 2nm sample, is reduced to 5% of its saturation value, suggesting the formation of domain walls perpendicular to the surface. In a 9nm sample, the pinned layer magnetization is instead canted away from the field at the MR maximum. A transition from perpendicular to parallel domain wall formation occurs for pinned layer thicknesses greater than 4nm, and the magnitude of the maximum MR subsequently depends on the type of domain wall th... |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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