Effect of junction geometry on switching field and reversal behavior in permalloy wires

Author

Lee, W.Y. ; Xu, Y.B. ; Vaz, C.A.F. ; Hirohata, A. ; Leung, H.T. ; Yao, C.C. ; Choi, B. Ch ; Bland, J.A.C. ; Rousseaux, F. ; Cambril, E. ; Launois, H.

Author_Institution

Cavendish Lab., Cambridge Univ., UK

Volume

35

Issue

5

fYear

1999

fDate

9/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

3883

Lastpage

3885

Abstract

We report on the magnetization reversal process and switching field behavior in permalloy (Ni₈₀Fe₂₀) wire structures investigated by magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) and magnetoresistance (MR) measurements. A combination of electron beam lithography and a lift-off process has been utilized to fabricate three sets of wire structures from a 30 Å Au/300 Å Ni₈₀Fe₂₀/GaAs(100) continuous film: straight wires, elbow wires, and cross wires with width w=0.5-50 μm and length l=200 μm. We found that the switching field and reversal behavior in the elbow and the cross wires depend upon the junction geometry, which nucleates or suppresses reverse domains according to the wire width. Consequently the junction determines the magnetization reversal process and switching field in the elbow and cross wires

Keywords

Kerr magneto-optical effect; Permalloy; magnetic switching; magnetisation reversal; magnetoresistance; Ni₈₀Fe₂₀; cross wires; elbow wires; electron beam lithography; junction geometry; lift-off process; magneto-optic Kerr effect; magnetoresistance; permalloy wires; reversal behavior; straight wires; switching field; Elbow; Geometry; Iron; Kerr effect; Magnetic field measurement; Magnetic switching; Magnetization reversal; Magnetooptic effects; Magnetoresistance; Wires;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.800696

Filename

800696