Abstract
The long-term thermal stability of the hard artificial antiferromagnetic subsystem (AAF) found in giant magnetoresistance (GMR) and tunnel magnetoresistance sensors based on Cu/Co/Ru/Co/Cu has been investigated using the complete sensor stack as well as of selected single layers. A striking asymmetry between both types of Co layers in the single Co layer samples with respect to magnetic and transport properties is observed, which show a different dynamics for each upon annealing. Directly after deposition, the Co/Ru interface is stronger mixed as compared to the Ru/Co interface, due to difference in sputter energies and order of growth. The different behavior upon annealing has been interpreted by the difference in concentration gradients and lattice mismatch at the interfaces. Despite the strong mixing found at the Co/Ru interface, the impact on the characteristics of the AAF, like the GMR signal and the rigidity is limited. Several causes, like the cohesion in the AAF induced by its Co seed layer on the Cu and the limited availability of Ru, are pointed out as likely origins of the improved stability of the AAF as compared to the single Co layers. Possibilities to even further improve the rigidity by carefully matching of anneal procedure and layer thicknesses are discussed.
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