Size dependence of the magnetoresistance in submicron FeNi wires

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Abstract
The field‐dependent magnetoresistance (MR) characteristic and magnetic hysteresis behavior has been studied in 300–500 Å thickness Ni80Fe20 wires of variable width (w) in the range from 0.2 to 10 μm. As the width of the wire decreases, a marked increase in the easy axis coercive field is seen for fields applied along the wire axis and the form of the MR characteristic is markedly modified for the in‐plane perpendicular hard axis direction with a large field‐dependent MR response observed for applied field strengths exceeding the edge demagnetizing field. The low field hard axis results are discussed in terms of an inhomogeneous spin configuration across the width of the wires arising from the spatial variation of the demagnetizing field.