Flexible spintronic devices on Kapton

Magnetic tunnel junctions and nano-sized domain-wall conduits have been fabricated on the flexible substrate Kapton. Despite the delicate nature of tunneling barriers and zig-zag shaped nanowires, the devices show an outstanding integrity and robustness upon mechanical bending. High values of bending angle (r = 5 mm) have been achieved without degradation of the device performance, reaching room-temperature tunneling magnetoresistance ratios of 12% in bended Co/Al2O3/NiFe junctions. In addition, a suitable route to pattern high-quality nanostructures directly on the polyimide surface is established. These results demonstrate that Kapton is a promising platform for low-cost, flexible spintronic applications involving tunnel junction elements and nanostructurization. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.