Magnetic spin states in diamond-shaped Ni/sub 80/Fe/sub 20//Cu/Ni/sub 80/Fe/sub 20/ nanomagnetic trilayer

We have investigated the evolution of the magnetic spin states in diamond-shaped Si(001)/Ni/sub 80/Fe/sub 20/(10nm)/Cu(10nm)/Ni/sub 80/Fe/sub 20/(40nm) nanomagnetic trilayer structures. The spin-valve structures were fabricated using deep ultra violet lithography at 248nm exposing wavelength. We observed that the diamond-shaped spin-valve structures display unique magnetic properties. The magnetization reversal process is strongly influenced by the shape-induced magnetic anisotropy. Our experimental results are in good agreement with 3-dimensional micromagnetic simulations.