Magnetization processes and magnetoresistance in Co/Cu multilayers as a function of the Cu layer thickness

Aitchison, P.R., Chapman, J.N., Holloway, H., Kubinski, D.J. and Parsons, M. (2000) Magnetization processes and magnetoresistance in Co/Cu multilayers as a function of the Cu layer thickness. Journal of Applied Physics, 87(9), 5753 -5755. (doi: 10.1063/1.372511)

Abstract

We have studied Co(15 Angstrom)/Cu(t) multilayers with nominal Cu spacer layer thicknesses of 7, 8, 9, and 10 Angstrom. For multilayers with identical dimensions, transport measurements showed that the introduction of oxygen during growth increased the magnetoresistance while transmission electron microscopy revealed the effect of the oxygen bleed on the microstructure was reduced grain size, suppression of the Co-hcp phase, and reduced texturing. Lorentz microscopy was used to determine the angle between magnetization vectors in adjacent magnetic layers and the values so deduced were found to correlate well with the variation of magnetoresistance within the multilayer sets.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: UNSPECIFIED
• Authors: Aitchison, P.R., Chapman, J.N., Holloway, H., Kubinski, D.J., and Parsons, M.
• Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics
• ISSN: 0021-8979