TOPOGRAPHY AND ITS EFFECT ON MAGNETIZATION REVERSAL OF COUPLED NIFECOFILMS

The manner in which magnetization reversal process of coupled NiFeCo f ilms are affected by various surface topography conditions of integrat ed circuit (IC) underlayers was examined. The experimental results dem onstrated that the topography of underlayers play a significant role i n affecting the magnetization reversal characteristics of the coupled films. A hysteresis loop with lower coercivity and homogeneous switchi ng field distribution can be obtained for the coupled films deposited on underlayer with a smooth surface topography. When the coupled films were deposited on underlayers having severe surface topography, a hys teresis loop with higher coercivity and inhomogeneous switching field distribution was obtained. Such behavior may be attributed to induced inhomogeneous coupling in the coupled films due to the severe topograp hy.