Effects of stray fields in flat-end and pointed-end NiFe/Cu/NiFe/NiO wires

The effects of the stray fields induced by pinned layers in two-types of 1- mum-wide NiFe/Cu/NiFe/NiO wires were investigated using the giant magnetore sistance effect and exchange anisotropy. One wire had flat ends and the oth er had pointed ends. It was found that the switching field of the free laye r in the flat-end wire was smaller than that in the pointed-end wire becaus e of the larger demagnetizing and stray fields and that the stray field in the pointed-end wire can be negligible. The stray field estimated from the experimental result in the flat-end wire was consistently explained by the magnetic charges at the wire end in the pinned layer.