[PDF]     https://doi.org/10.3952/physics.2025.65.4.8

Open access article / Atviros prieigos straipsnis
 
 Lith. J. Phys. 65, 258–265 (2025)
 

FABRICATION AND , MAGNETORESISTIVE PROPERTIES OF MAGNETRON-SPUTTERED CoFe/Cu SPIN VALVES WITH ANTIFERROMAGNETIC IrMn PINNING
Vilius Vertelisa,b, Dariuš Antonoviča, Skirmantas Keršulisa, Andrius Maneikisa, and Nerija Žurauskienėa,b
aDepartment of Functional Materials and Electronics, Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio 3, 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
bFaculty of Electronics, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Saulėtekio 11, 10223 Vilnius, Lithuania
Email: vilius.vertelis@ftmc.lt

Received 4 December 2025; accepted 5 December 2025

Nanolayered ferromagnetic/non-magnetic structures exhibit the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect and are used in a variety of applications. Spin valves are one class of devices that fall into the GMR category. In this work, the fabrication and characterization results of magnetron sputtered Ta/IrMn/CoFe/Cu/CoFe/Ta spin valve structures are presented. Two groups of samples were produced where the thickness of the Cu spacer layer or the CoFe pinned layer were varied in search of the highest magnetoresistance value. The maximum value of 4.8% magnetoresistance was obtained for a sample with the composition of Ta(5 nm) / IrMn(15 nm) / CoFe(2 nm) / Cu(2 nm) / CoFe(5 nm) / Ta(5 nm) when the sample was shaped into a meandering channel with 2 μm width. The achieved results are promising and will be used to further develop spin valve technology for various applications.
Keywords: spin valve, magnetoresistance, spintronics


CoFe/Cu SUKINIŲ SKLENDŽIŲ SU PRIRIŠANČIU ANTIFEROMAGNETINIU IrMn SLUOKSNIU GAMYBA MAGNETRONINIO DULKINIMO BŪDU IR MAGNETOVARŽOS TYRIMAS
Vilius Vertelisa,b, Dariuš Antonoviča, Skirmantas Keršulisa, Andrius Maneikisa, Nerija Žurauskienėa,b
aFizinių ir technologijos mokslų centro Funkcinių medžiagų ir elektronikos skyrius, Vilnius, Lietuva
bVilniaus Gedimino technikos universiteto Elektronikos fakultetas, Vilnius, Lietuva
 
Spintronika – tai kietojo kūno fizikos sritis, nagrinėjanti elektronų sukinio panaudojimą įrenginiuose, daugiausia dėmesio skiriant sukinio poliarizacijai, injekcijai ir manipuliavimui. Dariniai iš feromagnetinių / neferomagnetinių medžiagų nanosluoksnių pasižymi gigantiškos magnetovaržos (GMR) efektu ir yra plačiai naudojami įvairiose srityse. GMR efektas atsiranda dėl nuo sukinio priklausiančios elektronų sklaidos feromagnetinėse medžiagose ir pasireiškia elektrinės varžos pokyčiu keičiantis kampui tarp feromagnetinių sluoksnių įmagnetėjimų. Viena iš tokių įrenginių klasių yra sukinių sklendės (angl. spin valves). Šiame darbe pristatomi magnetroninio dulkinimo būdu pagamintų Ta/IrMn/CoFe/Cu/CoFe/Ta sukinių sklendžių darinių gamybos ir charakterizavimo rezultatai. Buvo pagamintos dvi bandinių grupės, kuriose buvo keičiami Cu atskiriamojo sluoksnio arba CoFe pririštojo sluoksnio storiai, siekiant gauti didžiausią magnetovaržos vertę. Didžiausia 4,8 % magnetovarža buvo pasiekta su 2 μm pločio meandro formos bandiniu, kurio sandara yra Ta(5 nm) / IrMn(15 nm) / CoFe(2 nm) / Cu(2 nm) / CoFe(5 nm) / Ta(5 nm). Gauti rezultatai yra perspektyvūs ir bus naudojami tolesniam sukinių sklendžių technologijos vystymui bei taikymui įvairioms reikmėms.


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