title: Insertion of a specular reflective and transmissive nano-oxide layer into giant magnetoresistance spin-valve structure.
abstract: We have studied the influence of the insertion of a nano-oxide layer (NOL) into a magnetic GMR spin-valve. It was found that the spin-valve with NOL has a higher GMR ratio than that of the normal spin-valve without NOL. Naturally formed NOL without vacuum break shows a uniform layer, which effectively suppresses the current shunt, resulting in the reduction of the sheet resistance of GMR. The NOL spin-valve also shows a lower interlayer coupling (Hin) than that of the optimal normal spin-valve, which is consistent with AFM measurement showing lower roughness of NOL formed CoFe surface. Based on the advantage of NOL, we succeeded in lowering Hin while maintaining GMR ratio by insertion of NOL inside the CoFe free layer, where the free layer consists of CoFe/NOL/CoFe/NOL/Capping layer.
authors.affiliation: Center for Frontier Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute Science and Technology, Gwangju 500-712, Korea.
authors.forename: Chunghee
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Youngman
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Ki-Su
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jungjin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D003035:Cobalt / Q000737:chemistry; D004583:Electrons; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry; D008280:Magnetics; D008839:Microelectrodes; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D010087:Oxides; D003035:Cobalt; D007501:Iron