INTERACTION EFFECTS AND MAGNETIC-ORDERING IN GMR ALLOYS

In this paper AgNiFe alloy films were examined both before and after a nnealing. Characterization of the samples and examination of interacti on effects was carried out by measuring the temperature decay of reman ence, initial susceptibility, and magnetoresistance. The temperature d ecay of remanence reveals that annealing widens the distribution of en ergy barriers, which is indicative of grain growth. The behavior of th e initial susceptibility as a function of temperature is analogous to that found in spin glasses. From these measurements, it is believed th at interaction effects in these systems are small.