Magnetoresistance elements exhibiting thermally stable giant magnetoresistance effect

摘要

Magnetoresist elements having good giant magnetoresistance characteristics of at least 6 percent are prepared by depositing alternating layers of magnetic alloy and non-magnetic copper or copper alloys in a thickness of 22-40 angstroms, which element, as deposited, exhibits ferromagnetic coupling. The multi-layer element, which may include up to 20 bilayers of magnetic material/non-magnetic material is then annealed at a temperature of about 250°-325° C. for a period of at least 15 minutes up to 10 hours. The resulting element exhibits good GMR characteristics which are thermally stable, and insensitive to minor variations in the thickness of the non-magnetic layer.