STRUCTURAL AND GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE CHARACTERIZATION OF AG-CO MULTILAYERS

Ag-Co multilayers were prepared on various substrates (Si, polyimide a nd glass) by e-beam evaporation under ultra high vacuum. X-ray diffrac tion and high resolution electron microscopy studies showed a deterior ation of multilayer structure upon reducing the individual Co-layer th ickness to 0.5 nm. Furthermore, the saturation field in the parallel f ield geometry increases, as SQUID magnetometry revealed, while magneto resistance reaches 16% at room temperature and exceeds 30% at 30 K. Ma gnetoresistance values were found to depend strongly on individual lay er thicknesses as well as on the total film thickness.