A. Chaiken, P. Lubitz, J.J. Krebs, G.A. Prinz, and M.Z. Harford, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375
The coercive field of thin Co films is strongly dependent on
substrate temperature and film thickness, but the magnetic
properties of Fe films are only weakly affected by growth
conditions. Fe-Cu-Co sandwiches deposited on glass and
silicon substrates via electron-beam evaporation exhibit
plateaus in their magnetization curves when the coercive
field of the Co is made larger than that of the Fe. These
plateaus correspond to an applied field region in which the
Co and Fe moments are antialigned and the resistance is
enhanced. The isotropic or spin-valve part of the
magnetoresistance is as large as 3.3% in some sandwiches. The
spin-valve magnetoresistance has a broad peak centered at a
ferromagnetic layer thickness of 60 Å.