Multidomain and incomplete alignment effects in giant magnetoresistance trilayers

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Abstract
The element specific magnetic hysteresis curves of Fe/Cu/Co trilayer structures can be used in conjunction with the measured magnetoresistance curves to extract the coefficient of the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) independent of magnetic domain effects and incomplete alignment effects, allowing for a measure of the maximum attainable GMR for that trilayer. Information concerning the details of the trilayer switching can be extracted showing that sputtered polycrystalline films of Fe/Cu/Co deposited on Si switch their magnetization directions like multidomain Ising magnets.