Extensive study of giant magnetoresistance properties in half-metallic Co2(Fe,Mn)Si-based devices

Fully epitaxial Co2FexMn1-xSi(CFMS)/Ag/Co2FexMn1-xSi current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistive devices with various Fe/Mn ratios x and top CFMS layer thicknesses t(CFMS) were prepared. The highest magnetoresistance (MR) ratios, 58% at room temperature and 184% at 30 K, were observed in the sample with x = 0.4 and t(CFMS) = 3 nm. Enhancement of interface spin-asymmetry was suggested for x = 0.4 compared with that at x = 0. A MR ratio of 58% was also observed even in a very thin trilayer structure, CFMS(4 nm)/Ag(3 nm)/CFMS(2 nm), which is promising for a next-generation magnetic read sensor for high-density hard disk drives. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4772546]