Dependence of electromigration-induced failure lifetimes on NiFe thin-film thickness in giant magnetoresistive spin-valve read heads

Autor:	I-Fei Tsu, Jack H. Judy, Marshall Davis, Seongtae Bae, Edward S. Murdock
Rok vydání:	2001
Předmět:	Materials science Nuclear magnetic resonance Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous) Magnetoresistance Condensed matter physics Spin valve Grain boundary Giant magnetoresistance Thin film Electromigration Current density Grain size
Zdroj:	Applied Physics Letters. 79:3657-3659
ISSN:	1077-3118 0003-6951
DOI:	10.1063/1.1421644
Popis:	The physical mechanisms responsible for the dependence of electromigration-induced failure lifetimes on NiFe thin film thickness in giant magnetoresistive spin-valve read heads have been studied to determine the maximum allowable current density. Based on measured median-times-to-failure, a maximum current density of about 1–2×108 A/cm2 was found to be safely used in 3–5 nm thick NiFe films. Grain size analyses using a transmission electron microscopy suggests that the longer lifetimes of thinner films are mainly due to the smaller number of grain boundaries and fewer triple points which result in less atomic flux divergence.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::ce0868cbb99aec5c1ee01a1b3190878c https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1421644 Zobrazit plný text záznamu