PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES OF COFE IRMN SPIN-VALVES PREPARED USING ION-BEAM SPUTTERING WITH AN XE-H-2 MIXTURE GAS/

Co90Fe10/Cu/Co90Fe10/Ir25Mn75 spin-valves with a Ta seed layer were pr epared by ion beam sputtering. Improvements in magnetoresistive (MR) a nd magnetic properties were obtained by adding H-2 to Xe sputtering ga s. Specifically, the coercivity in the free Co90Fe10 layer considerabl y decreased as the Ha how rate was increased. Furthermore, exchange co upling between the Ir25Mn75 and pinned Co90Fe10 layers became stronger in the preparation under the higher H-2 flow rate. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy observations suggest that micro-crystallization of each layer is resp onsible for improving the MR and magnetic properties.