Jc. Lodder et al., GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE IN OBLIQUELY COEVAPORATED CO-AG FILMS, Journal of magnetism and magnetic materials, 128(1-2), 1993, pp. 219-228
Magnetoresistance (MR) measurements at room temperature have been perf
ormed on obliquely (co-) evaporated Ag-Co films deposited at room- and
elevated-temperatures. The 'giant' magnetoresistance ratio (max. 13%
for a composition of about Co35Ag65) over a wide range of compositions
has been measured. The films are polycrystalline and grown in a colum
nar morphology. The columnar diameter depends on the thickness and is
< 20 nm at 400 nm thickness. From XRD, NMR and saturation magnetizatio
n (M(s)) vs. at% Ag, one can conclude that the films consist of Co-Co
and Ag-Ag clusters. The coercivity depends on the thickness of the fil
ms (100-700 nm) and varies from 5 to 15 kA/m.