Properties of ferromagnetic thin films and ferromagnetic multilayers of Ni-Fe/SiO/sub 2/

The properties of Fe, Ni, and permalloy monolayer and alternating Ni-Fe/SiO/sub 2/ multilayer thin films prepared by high vacuum evaporation and DC sputtering have been investigated. In the case of multilayer thin films the relative permeability at high frequencies is much improved, confirming the existence of a magnetostatic coupling between the 0.2 /spl mu/m thin magnetic layers. The alternating Ni-Fe/SiO/sub 2/ multilayer thin films are available for utilization as magnetoresistive heads and magnetoresistive sensors.