GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE PEAKS IN CONICU CU MULTILAYERS GROWN BY ELECTRODEPOSITION/

Giant magnetoresistance (GMR) of CoNiCu/Cu multilayers grown by electr odeposition was measured as a function of the copper layer thickness a nd effects of the order of 14% were obtained. The copper layer thickne ss ranged from 0.7 to 3.5 nm. Two peaks in the magnetoresistance were observed. One was centered at a copper thickness of similar to 1.0 nm and the second was centered at similar to 2.3 nm. Comparison of the fi eld dependence of the magnetoresistance with the field dependence of t he magnetization, as determined by vibrating-sample magnetometer, sugg ests that the saturation field for GMR and the magnetization are simil ar for the larger copper thicknesses, but are strikingly different nea r 1.0 nm copper thickness. This observation suggests that the GMR is a ffected by different factors depending on the thickness of the copper layer.