Abstract
A high sensitivity of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) has been observed recently from soft magnetic layers such as NiFe, NiFeCo, and FeCoB.12 Amorphous CoZr alloys present ultrasoft properties compared to NiFe.3 GMR has been investigated for amorphous CoZr/Cu/Co thin films grown by rf diode sputtering using a target consisting of a Co disk partially covered with a Zr foil. The influence of the argon pressure on Cu layer deposition, Cu thickness, and Zr content on magnetic and transport properties was analyzed. The highest value of transverse GMR obtained along the easy axis is 3.6% and the MR curve was saturated in a magnetic field of 100 Oe at room temperature. GMR shows scaling behavior with the sample composition. Very high sensitivity, around 1–2%/Oe was observed in a CoZr (3 nm)/Cu (3 nm)/Co (2 nm) sandwich. This study shows a large dependence of GMR on Cu thickness and the maximum of magnetoresistance strongly depending on the Ar pressure which modifies the interface roughness. The Zr content also influences the magnetotransport properties (ΔR/R and ΔR/RΔH). The difference in coercivity between soft magnetic CoZr and hard magnetic Co layers induces antiferromagnetic alignment. Therefore a high MR ratio and field sensitivity are achieved by improving the magnetic properties of the CoZr layer.
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