Giant magnetoresistance and its application in recording heads

A short overview is given of the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect and its device applications. As an example of present research topics, the optimization of the ferromagnetic-layer composition of spin valves for application in recording heads is discussed. The influence on output voltage and stability has been investigated in test structures and compared with material parameters that were experimentally obtained from unpatterned films. It is found that in practical applications a small addition of cobalt is advantageous, since, although the output voltage is decreased, it leads to an improvement in reproducibility, linearity, signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range