The effect of interface dispersion on noise and hysteresis in permanent magnet stabilized MR elements

Noise and hysteresis in permanent magnet stabilized magnetoresistive elements are studied via a 3D micromagnetic simulation. The response of the element to a uniform external field is examined and is found to be very sensitive to the magnetics of the overlap region between the hard and soft magnet materials. Simulation results indicate that proper initialization of the permanent magnet material during film deposition would greatly improve the stability of these devices.