EFFECT OF ANISOTROPY DISPERSION ON MAGNETIZATION PROCESS IN MAGNETORESISTIVE SENSOR FILMS

The effect of anisotropy dispersion on the magnetization process in ma gnetoresistive sensor films is studied using micromagnetic calculation . It is assumed that the magnetization of the film is fixed at both en ds to the track width direction, which corresponds to the average dire ction of the easy magnetization axis of the film. Magnetization distri bution at different stages of the magnetization process is calculated by numerical integration of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. Our study shows that anisotropy dispersion causes buckling instead of cohe rent rotation of the magnetization. As dispersion increases, buckling becomes more pronounced. Furthermore, budding does not completely disa ppear when the external magnetic field is weakened to a small value. T he magnetization process is influenced by buckling, and this may lead to Barkhausen noise. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.