Studies on interfacial and crystalline structures of spin valve multilayers

Spin valves of high quality were fabricated by a two-step deposition proced ure, Lower sublayers (i.e., buffer layer Ta/free layer NiFe/interlayer Cu) are deposited at a lower argon pressure, which promoted formation of strong (111) textures, smooth interfaces and dense Cu film, and upper sublayers ( i.e., pinned layer NiFe/pinning layer FeMn/cover Ta) are deposited at a hig her pressure, which promoted small grains and less diffusive interface. The independent control of the magnetoresistance, the ferromagnetic interlayer coupling, and exchange biasing was achieved by improving the interfacial a nd crystalline structures of the spin valves.