Effect of contact geometry on the magnetoresistance response of Ni 80 Fe 20 antidot array

Abstract

The effect of electrical contact geometry on the shape and sign of the magnetoresistance (MR) response in micron-size antirectangular array structures has been investigated. The MR response is strongly sensitive to the direction of the applied sense current. The results can be attributed to the competing anisotropic MR effects from two inhomogeneous orthogonal current flows in the structure. We have also investigated the effect of film thickness on the overall MR responses, and observed that as film thickness decreases, the switching field and MR ratio decrease accordingly and the competition between the anisotropic MR effects becomes more evident. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.