Influence of nano-oxide layers on IrMn pinned bottom spin-valves at different positions

Abstract The influence of nano-oxide layer (NOL) inserted at different positions on interlayer coupling ( H in ), coercivity of free layer ( H cf ), exchange bias ( H ex ) and MR ratio of IrMn pinned bottom type spin-valves (SV) were studied. Weak antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling was observed in NOL-added SV. The NOL inside pinned layer and after free layer can enhance the MR ratio remarkably. MR of SV with a structure Ta3/NiFe2/IrMn6/CoFe1/NOL/CoFe2.3/Cu2.2/CoFe2.3/AlO reached 18.2%. This is one of the best values ever reported for all-metal single spin-valves.