Influence of lateral geometry on magnetoresistance and magnetisation reversal in Ni/sub 80/Fe/sub 20/ wires

The magnetisation reversal processes and magnetoresistance behaviour in micron-sized Ni/sub 80/Fe/sub 20/ wires with triangular and rectangular modulated width have been studied. The wires were fabricated by electron beam lithography and a lift-off process. A combination of magnetic force microscopy (MFM), magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and magnetoresistance (MR) measurements shows that the lateral geometry of the wires greatly influences the magnetic and transport properties. The width modulations modify not only the shape-dependent demagnetising fields, but also the current density. The correlation between the lateral geometry the magnetic and the transport properties is discussed based on MFM, MOKE and MR results.