Structural and magnetoresistance properties of Co/Cu multilayers

The structure and magnetoresistance of Co/Cu multilayers prepared by magnetron sputtering in a high vacuum deposition system have been investigated. It is shown that sputter-deposited Co/Cu multilayers can exhibit the giant magnetoresistive effect. The magnetoresistance depends on the microstructure of the multilayer, and for structures grown on glass the presence of a suitable buffer layer can considerably increase the observed effect. Measurement on as-deposited and annealed multilayers show that a large effect is associated with smoother rather than rougher interfaces, at least in the scale of roughness in the present multilayers and with a small grain size.<
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