CAREER: Fundamental Electrical and Thermal Limitations of Patterned Thin Film Multilayer Magnetic Field Sensors

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9702419 Burkett Advances in magnetic materials research have had a remarkable impart on the data storage industry in the last decade. As the demands for faster operation and increased density intensify, it is clear that device dimensions must be reduced. Future increases in density will require radical new developments. However, the advent of any new major technology brings with it a wide variety of technical problems. In the case of magnetoresistive (MR) field-sensing devices, a number of these problems are materials related. One such problem, receiving surprisingly little attention, is that of electromigration. Other problems of interest in the application of MR technology are the origins of electrical noise and of thermally induced spurious output signals. An improved microscopic understanding of the failure modes of electronic conduction in magnetic multilayers of small dimensions that may be used in magnetoresistive sensing devices has vast technological implications. Additional studies include investigation of thermal integrity of patterned multilayers, and a special multilayer structure, the "spin-valve" as well as signal to noise ratio (SNR) measurements on patterned multilayers for evaluation of the relationship between noise, microstructure, and absolute physical size of field-sensing elements. The primary objectives in the proposed career development plan include: development of photolithographic techniques for magnetic materials, the study of electromigration effects under high current densities, evaluation of related thermal degradation effects in magnetic multilayers, noise measurements in mesoscopic multilayers, integration of research topics to the engineering curriculum, creation of research projects to aid in educating undergraduate/graduate students, and provision of adequately trained engineers for placement in the magnetics industry. ***