Micromagnetic design of spin dependent tunnel junctions for optimized sensing performance

Pinned spin dependent tunneling devices have been fabricated into high sens itivity magnetic field sensors with many favorable properties including hig h sensitivity (similar to 10 mu Oe/root Hz at 1 Hz and similar to 100 nOe/r oot Hz at > 10 kHz), a linear bipolar output versus applied field, high pro cessing yields, and high temperature stability and operability (over 200 de grees C). However, the performance of fabricated sensors has not yet approa ched the theoretical limit one calculates assuming ideal behavior of the se nsors' ferromagnetic layers' magnetizations. Given a total magnetoresistive signal of 30%, and typical anisotropy fields and hard axis biasing conditi ons, there should be a region of linear nonhysteretic response at zero fiel d with a slope of greater than 20%/Oe. Measured responses are 1%-3%/Oe, and exhibit some hysteresis. These less than desirable effects are the result of several factors including: (1) Self-demagnetizing fields of the soft (se nsing) layer; (2) stray fields from the hard (pinned) layer; (3) imperfect pinning of the hard layer; and (4) interlayer magnetic coupling across the tunnel barrier. This paper describes, in detail, the extent to which these factors affect sensor performance, and specific steps to be taken in order to minimize their deleterious influence. Specifically, the simple pinned la yer is replaced by an exchange coupled synthetic antiferromagnet (CoFe/Ru/C oFe), the soft layer is made to be significantly larger in the plane than t he pinned layer, and the soft layer is made as thin as possible. (C) 2000 A merican Institute of Physics.[S0021- 8979(00)53008-4].