AMR effect in spin-valve structure

It is very important to estimate the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) effects in a spin-valve structure when designing spin-valve heads. The AMR effect in a free layer can have an especially significant influence on head properties. We measured the change in resistance in spin-valve films and separated the AMR signal from the total change in resistance using an improved means of measurement. With this measurement, we directly obtained the AMR effect on the free layer. The sample structure we used was NiFe/CoFe/Cu/CoFe/FeMn. The AMR effect was about 16% of the SV effect. This value is rather large and can affect the head properties.