Influence of pr content on the sructure and giant magnetoresistance of Pr(CoAg) granular films.

Pr(CoAg) ( x=0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3) granular films have been prepared by DC magneto controlled sputtering method. The XRD data indicated that Pr element favors the (111) plane preferential orientation. Magnetic measurements indicate that the average size of magnetic particles decreases as Pr content increases. For relatively low addition of Pr to CoAg granular films, Pr element can enhance GMR value and a peak value of about −14.3% is obtained at x=1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]