GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE IN ELECTRODEPOSITED FILMS

Electrodeposition is one of the simpler and cheaper processes availabl e for the fabrication of thin metal films, Recent developments have ma de it possible to electrodeposit a wide range of nanostructured materi als, including many that exhibit giant magnetoresistance (GMR), We rev iew progress in the growth and characterization of such films, startin g with electrodeposited ferromagnetic metal/non-magnetic metal superla ttices in which the individual layers can be as thin as 10 Angstrom or less and for which several workers have reported significant GMR at r oom temperature. Next we describe a method which can be used to produc e superlattices having a thickness of several mu m and an area of less than 1 mu m(2). These ''superlattice nanowires'' are ideal for measur ements of GMR in the current perpendicular to plane (CPP) geometry and are an example of a structure which at present can only be produced b y electrodeposition. Finally, we consider the electrodeposition of het erogeneous alloy films showing GMR.