Giant magnetoresistance enhancement in spin valves with nano-oxide layers.

The magnetoresistance (MR) ratio is enhanced by 35% by inserting the nano-oxide layer (NOL) at the Ta/Co interface in the FeMn-based top spin valves (Ta/NOL/Co/Cu/Co/FeMn/Ta). The enhancement is attributed to specular reflection, resulting in a large resistance change and small sheet resistance. However, the formation of NOL at the interface of Ta/Co suppresses the (111) texture, resulting in small exchange fields. Top spin valves with NOLs show good thermal stability up to 200 °C annealing. The MR ratio is further increased after annealing at temperatures below 200 °C. Enhancement of the MR ratio by 61% can be achieved by annealing at 150 °C. For bottom spin valves (Ta/NiFe/FeMn/Co/Cu/NiFe/Ta), NOLs formed at FeMn/Co and NiFe/Ta interfaces increase MR ratios, but NOLs at Co/Cu or Cu/NiFe deteriorate the differential spin scattering and significantly reduce MR ratios. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]