Controlling the angular response of magnetoresistance in Co/Cu multilayered nanowires using Co crystallographic orientation

Ordered nanoporous templates with monodispersed pore diameters were used for the fabrication of multilayered Co/Cu nanowires. The c-axis alignment of Co layers was controlled in order to study the angular variation of the magnetoresistance (Delta MR). When the Co easy axis was in plane (perpendicular to the wire axes), the arrays were magnetically anisotropic and they had a low angular Delta MR (0.08%). This was most likely due to anisotropic magnetoresistance. However, when the Co c axis was out of plane (parallel to wire axes), the arrays were magnetically isotropic but they had larger angular Delta MR (1.33%). The maximum MR was 7% for the whole array. This control of the angular response will be useful in designing sensors for a variety of applications. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.