Scaling in thin magnetoresistive films

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Abstract
The magnetoresistive response of long strips of thin ferromagnetic films under external field in the plane of the film is examined using analytic as well as numerical methods. This is done for a range of easy axis directions and external field angles. It is found that the dimensional as well as magnetic parameters are subsumed into two parameters—a zero-field equilibrium angle η and a field scale HS. The magnetoresistive response of the film to an external field HA appears in terms of the scaled variable (HA/ HS). As a result, the response of a large number of films for a given external field angle, and fixed η, falls on the same curve when expressed in terms of the scaled variable (HA/ HS). This also leads to a reciprocal relation between the sensitivity and range of linearity of the transfer function of a magnetoresistive transducer.