Design and Characterization of a Micrometric Magnetoresistive Sensor

The paper presents the design and characterization of multilayered spin valve structures to be used as magnetic field sensor. To enhance the performance of the sensor and to reduce the density of magnetic domain formation, two geometries of the magnetoresistive element are investigated. A meander structure element and a yoke configuration are designed with different parameters such as the width of the stripe (4 µm ÷ 8 µm), length and number of segments on a 10 mm x 20 mm mask. UV photolithography is used for micrometric patterning of the geometric shapes. The response of the as obtained devices is characterized in terms of the magnetoresistive ratio by measuring the variation curves of the electrical resistance when applying an external magnetic field.