GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE IN PERMALLOY COPPER MULTILAYERS/

The oscillatory behaviour of the giant magnetoresistivity versus Cu su blayer thickness was observed in Ni83Fe17/Cu multilayers with an oscil lation period of 1 nm independently of buffer layer and substrates use d in the experiment. The giant magnetoresistance field sensitivity equ al to 0.02%/Oe and 0.15%/Oe for the first and the second maximum respe ctively, were found. It was shown that the giant magnetoresistance eff ect in our multilayers is not only due to the antiferromagnetic coupli ng between adjacent permalloy layers but also due to the superparamagn etic-like behaviour related to the existence of the intermixed interfa cial areas.