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Publication
Journal of Applied Physics
Paper
Magnetic structure of the spin valve interface
Abstract
Nonferromagnetic atoms present at Ni/Cu and Permalloy/Cu interfaces in sputtered spin valve magnetoresistive layered structures have been shown to cause reduced magnetoresistance. Here we show that a model in which the moments on the Ni atoms in the interfacial region of Ni/Cu are reduced substantially by interdiffusion with Cu is consistent with the experimental results. In contrast, we believe that moments persist at the permalloy/Cu interface, which first principle total energy calculations suggest will be disordered at finite temperatures. These reduced or disordered moments are expected to significantly reduce the GMR.