Effects of spacer thickness on perpendicular anisotropy L10-FePt/TiN/L10-FePt pseudo spin valves
Pseudo spin valves (PSVs) with the structure MgO substrate/L10-Fe50Pt50/TiN/L10-Fe50Pt50 were fabricated with varying TiN spacer thickness from 3 to 7 nm. The giant magnetoresistance (GMR) reached a maximum before diminishing with increasing TiN spacer thickness. The initial enhancement of the GMR was attributed to the reduction in interlayer coupling between the L10-FePt layers. However, a decline in GMR sets in when the current shunting effects negated the enhancement brought about by the improved decoupling. Magnetostatic coupling was the primary source of interlayer coupling in the PSVs. The dependence of interlayer coupling on the remanent state of the hard L10-FePt was also examined based on the magnitude and direction of shift in the center of the minor hysteresis loop. While magnetostatic coupling was present in fully saturated hard L10-FePt, dipolar stray field coupling contributed more significantly to the interlayer coupling strength in partially saturated hard L10-FePt. The stray field couplin...