A

ELSEVIER Scnso~ and Actuators A 59 (Iq(~7) 9 It~

Magnetoresistive sensors
D.J. Mapps *
(-k'ntr~"hn Rt'~cm'dl m bt/~r, latilm Storage I-e('hm~log),. S.E.C.E.E., I~'nil~.r.~ilvo/ Pllml,uth. P(rmtmth PL4 $.4A, /_:k/

Abstract

This paper reviews magnctorcsistive sensors for detecting magnetic fields. These sensors are based on an efl~t which has been
known tot more than 11111years, but it has onl 3 come to prominence since 1971 x~,hen a thin-film magnetoresistive sensor was
shown to have good signal-to-noise performance in a field-sensing application in magnetic rccording.
A large amount of research has been ¢~lrried out to explore the limits of magnetoresistive sensors in their thin-film form and
many novel structures have been published. Despite this there are application limits relating to non-lineafity of response
characteristics, presence of demagnetising fields, hysteresis and Barkhansen noise.
The paper will presenl the basic tbeo~' of thc~e sensors a~d deal with some technical limitations. A range of magnetic biasing
techniques are discussed. The shape and structure of these sensors affects sensiti'.ily through the lorm and magnitude of the
demagnetising field. Improvements in perfnrmancc can be gained by making thinner sensor t~!ms and films with transverse
shape-anisotropy.
Research has led to a reduction in cocrcivtty of sensor film materials and a ~,x~rresponding impro'~'emenl in hysteresis.
Barkfiausen noise reduces in thinner films due to the transition from predominantly Bloch-type to predominantly N~el-type
magnetic domain walls.This paper considers n',o types of sensor application. The first is tbr general magnetic field detection and
the second, detecting magnetic fields on infommtion storage media, t: 1997 Published by Elsevier Science S.A.

Kt'y~tmd~: M~lgnctomsistance;Thin.film: Sensors; M~lgncticticld~

1, Introduction A typical bench mark lbr magnetic fields is that of

Magnetic sensors have been in use in one form or
another for many hundreds of years. They range from
suspended magnets used tbr navigation to small thin-
film detectors which sense information in the form of
magnetic reversals on magnetic computer disks. Mag-
netic fields have the significant advantage th~tt they can
be detected through solid objects which can otherxvise
form a boundary to contain toxic materials. They arc
used almost universally in electrical motors and trans-
ducers to produce movement. They also give rise to
concerns about their interaction with human beings
and, conversely, arc used via magnetic resonance sys-
tems to scan inner parts of the human body not visible
with X-rays.
Detection and measurem nt of magnetic fields is,
therelbre, of significant technical and commercial im-
portance and so a whole range of different detectors
and systems have evolved to cover the range of mag-
netic fields of interest to society and industry in general,
*1"el.: +44 1752 232570:fnx: +44 1752232583.
the horizontal component of the earth's field which has
a strength of about 0 , 2 0 e r s t e d or 0.2 × 10 ~ Tesla
depending whether the c.g.s, or S.I. system of units is
being used. Inside materials the Oersted becomes the
'Gauss' as on mduction measurement, so. beating in
mind that, apart from highly evacuated "space', fields
arc almost always measured within some material (e.g.
air), the Gauss is often used. This is the "induction"
which arises from a 'field' of I Oerstcd in the c.g.s.
system. Consequently, the coereivity of a .:'-Fe,O3 audio
magnetic recording tape is usually quoted as being 300
Oersteds but its induction is 300 Gauss.
Fig. 1 {taken from Ref. [I]) shows a number of
devices used lbr sensing magnetic fields together with
the approximate range of field over which they detect.
Most of the devices arc quite different from each other
in construction and cost, so, in making comparisons,
we must take account of the application, the accuracy
desired and the physical size of the sensor being used.
One sensor, in particular, has recently become popu-
lar because it ~xupics the mid-range of detection and

0924-4247/97i$17.00~ 1997 Published by Elsevier ScienceS.A, All rights rese~cd.

PII S0924-4247197)01407-6
 D.J. Ahlpps Sen.wr~ aim ,h'tuau,'~ .4 39 (lq97) 9. 19
3 operatlly Pumlr.d M ~ g n o ~ t e t
/[I
'."°°-*-°' I I-I--I
&/
7. M agnetotr~ ~tivg M agne ~ z t c t
II Mag~te~c,4g i iii
Fig. I. Listingof magneticsensorsand the approximatenmgeof
lields overwhichtheyate used.
cain be made very small using photolithography fabrica-
tion methods common to the semiconductor industry,
This *s the thin-film magnetoresistor. Even now, a
quarter or a century after it was first popularised in a
paper by R.P. Hunt [2], the thin-film magnetoresistor is
finding new areas of application and continues to be
developed. A summary of its advantages and applica-
tion areas is given in Table 1,
In this paper the basic theory of the sir~plesl:device is
given, together with some theory coupled to
Barkhausen noise which limits the operation of the
sensor in some environments. Temperature limitations
are discussed as wall as novel configurations for over-
coming temperature effects and non-linearity. Two ap-
plication areas are described in some detail by way of
example but these are in no sense exclusive since these
sensors are now being used in a vast range of engineer-
iug and technological applications worldwide.
2. Basic theory
The basic thin-film maguetoresistor is an evaporated
thin layer of suitable material such as 80,,'20 nickel-iron
on a non-magnetic fiat s~bstrate. The electrical resin.
lance of the film can be raodulated by the application
of a magnetic field which changes the direction of its
inherent magnetisation. Such a film can have a thick-
ness of, say, a fee: tens of nanometres and can be
etched into a rectangular shape using photolithographic
techniques where the principal in-plane measurements
are a few tens of micrometers.
Fig, 2 shows a schematic diagram of a rectangular
film taken from Ref. [3]. The film is assumed to be
magnetised to saturation Ms at an angle 0 to its long
axis.
The applied field Ha has a direction at an angle a to
the long axis and the anisotropy field Hr~ which direc-
tion of the lowest energy magnetisation direction of the
material of the film, is at an angle ;' to the long axis.
The ultimate position of the magnetisation vector Ms is
found as the resultant lowest energy magnetic state
when lhe film experiences the applied field given the
constraints mentioned above and also the demagnetis-
/ ing energy of the film ill its own field. This depenJs on
the film dimensions, i.e. its thickness (t). length (l). and
width 0r) (sometimes known as the height {hi),
The magnetic energy components to be considered
are'.
(il The potential energy E), created when the applied
field exerts a twisting couple on the film magnetisa-
tion,
Ep= MsHacos{~-O) {I)
di) The additional anisotropy energy EA which arise
when the magnetic vector lies in a direction other
than the lowest free magnefisatiou direction.
EA = -~-~MsH K sin2(7- a) 12)
(iii) The demagnetising energy E~ where atomic spins
ill the material lattice interact with each other nega-
tively to reduce the effect of the applied field in
aligning them. This is sometimes described as like the
effect of free magnetic poles at the extremities of the
film which produce all internal reverse field. Sucb a
field is not due to q'ree poles' which do not exist but
such a concept is useful lbr mathematical specifica-
tion.
El> ~ + ½M~N o sin-' (t 131
where No is the demagnetising field opposite to the
direction of Ms. This can be resolved into three
components, each parallel to :k principal axis of the
rectangular film. An approximate sign I ' - ) is used
because the demagnetising field is only line:~r in the
case of an ellipsoidal solid which is usually assumed
to be contained within the principal axes of the film.
The approximate value of Eo is often acceptable.
especially in cases where a single magnetic domain is
assumed to exist in the film.
If the energy components of (i), 0il and (iii) are
added together and then differentiated with respect to
0, a condition can be found wherein the energy is ;I
minimum, i.e.
Hl~ sin(:t - 01 - ! HK sin 2(? - t]) - ~ Nt~Ms sin 20 = 0
(4)
Eq. (4) determines the relationship between the applied
field Ha in which the sensor finds itself, and the angle 0
between the magnetisation vector and the long axis of
the film which is also the one usually chosen for the
direction of the electrical current flow. This angle 0 is
observed in practice to have a cosine-square relation-
ship with the resistivity of the film as follows:
 D.J. Muyps Sensars and rll'tuators ,4 59 (!9971 9 Iq

Table I
Magnetoresislis'e sensors adsautages and main application areas

,41h'anta.re.~
High sensitivity allowing operation over relatively great distano.+s
Low source resistance giving loss sensitivity to electrical inlcrli:reno:
Highqemperatum up- 151PC continuous. 175%" peak Ichip alone elm v.ithstand 175~( coniinu~:u~
eration
Opendion o~+er a wide from DC tip to :~cvcral MHz
fr,.-quen~ range
Metal film technology • gi,,ing excellent long-term slahilily
Low sensitivity to me+ Ihcilitating mounting of tile sensor and ;dlov,ing its ruse in relati'.ely rout~h environments
dmnical stress
Small size call be tS+bricated +.ilh micron dimeusiuus
.,tpplh'llthl~t aPt'us
Trul~ic control deteclion of vehicles
Low-cost navigation illlo~+~ingthe produclion of simple compax, sy:,tcms '++,ithan act:urac? of around I+ ide;d for .:tutomotP.e applica-
tions
Long-distauce metal Ibr the detection of, for example, military ~.ehlcles hy measuring dislurhanct~ in the earth's magnetic field
detection
Motion detectors by measuring position changes rdutive to the earth's magnclic fidd
Current delectiun Ibr example, earth-leakage switches
Geaeral nnlgnetic-liehl from I0 A m ~ to It) kA m i
nleasurement
Direct-currant men. St~lrlillg currents ill motor vehicles
suremcul
Angular or position scm:ing of a~:+:elerator pedal or throttle position lengine-management systemsl
measurelneut
posilion sensing in induslrlal autt~malion systems (commercial ~n~,or arrays that carl measure positions ','.ith an
accuracy of + 30 v.ml
l'on.'e acceleration pressure measuremenl using a mo',iug magnet, for example: engnle-iolake-martifold pressure
sensors, fluid-levd sensors, low-cost s~eighing s)slems gc'c.:+,onieIselsmic) seo~ors, accelerometers
Murk detection attd camshal~ or flywheel position sensors lot engine i~nition :,+',stems
counting
end-point sensors
,.,.heel-speed sensors l?,r anli-blocking ~.)stems
rpln ,.:earners ~t) to 20 kHz) for engiu¢ tachometers and for elc.,~tronic s~nchr,,mx~,h s~stems
i]t)%~ nlctCl'S
zero speed detectors rpm ctnltrnl in cleclric motors
general Jllslrart:¢mation
Magnetic recording thin, film replay heads for lape and disk s}stems S'¢+ipcreader,, I\~rcredit cards, bus tickets, door locks, etc.

P = Pn + Ap cos" 0 (5) (p - .a,) Ap = cos -+O (6)

where Ap is the m a x i m u m value of the magnetic field
related resistivity change (saturation magnetorcsis-
tance). The fractional magnetoresistance from Eq. (5)is
often quoted as:
Eqs. 14) and 16) allow a relationship to be developed
(by eliminating #) between the fractional magnetoresis-
tahoe :rod the magnitude and direction of the applied
field Ha, assuming the other constants are known. This
is the basis o f the thin-film magnctoresistivc sensor.

applied
":~' _ _ ~
A--Of~S~
Hb I+S 3, Temperature effects
tMd + +-+"--"-" HF '1
Like many sensors, the characteristics o f the thin+film
V ~lro~ Hk magnetoresistor are susc'eptible to temperature. If used
++-
to detect a steady m a ~ e t i c field, the output change due
to the field is indistinguMtable from that due to temper-
(.1 <b) ature drift. Temperature vs. output voltage curves for
permaUoy magnetoresistors are shown, for example, in
Fig. 2. In) Schematic diagram of a Ihiu-lilm magnetorcsistor showing
the principal dire.,:tions and quamiti++~used in the theory. Ibl Division Fig. 3. taken from Ref. [4]. T o overcome such a prob-
of the applied field into a constant bias field Ht~ and a lotalional lem, a b t i d g e circuit is often used so as to subtract the
component tl~, temperature induced error between two or four sensors
12 D.J. Mapps SenwJr.v.m/..[ cttutlor.v .4 59 ( / 997) 9. ! 9

4. Linearity
75
A summary of the limitations of magnetoresistors in
V ou[ T~ml, terms of linearity can be found in Ref. [5]. The funda-
memal characteristic is not only non-linenr but it is
(mV)~ i ' ~7~ subject to hysteresis. This relates mainly to the cosine-
squared law modified by the effects of magnetic satura-
5O Ii i~ S tion which lead to a saturation in the
I I//t magnetoresistance. The maximum value is about 2% of
i 7// the resistance change of the whole magnetoresistor but
i
! [/f1(~75°c only a fraction of this can be used because of the shape
I ///, \12soc of the curve.

25 ~--
JI ////i A method for assessing the extent of the linear region
of the response curve can be found in Ref. [5} where the
I ~ / I ..... second derivative (Q) of the curve is divided by the
i ]j/ I
, I I square of the first derivative (P)-'. If the square of the
resulting function is plotted against transverse field (see
I ..... I
t I Fig. 5), the result is a curve with the linear range clearly
o I ! identified us a line along the field axis and the non-lin-
I I ear range towards infinity.
' / ' Hysteresis can also be seen in Fig, 5 where the rising
I i and falling characteristic of 5(a) :rod 5(b) present a
I i .., I different magnetoresistor sensitivity depending on
I
which curve the measurement is being made. Such a
problem can be reduced by careful attention to the
__ I/'i/ t dimensions of the magnetoresistor (controlling the de-
yl/ t magnetising field}, the parameters controlling the film
I
coercivity and the electronic detection circuit Iwhich
controls the point of measurement),

//ll! i
........ vcc
/11 i , I I RI -5V
5k[Z

-4 -2 0 2 4
Hy (kA/m)

Fig. 3. Oulptll vohage versus transverse field H,, far several tempera-
tures {barber pule sensor) from Rer, [4],
%/'/ I L:.~==o. /
;/ "
in different arms of the bridge whilst biasing the sensors
to ensure that when the outputs are subtracted, the
usefld (field induced} signals add together. J 360 ~ / 390 kfl 2 kfl z
Such a bridge circuit is described for the Philips
magn:toresistive 'Barberpole" sensor and shown in Fig.
4. The circuit employs bilicon temperature sensors in
the feedback loop of an operational amplifier {KTY 83) Fig. 4, A typical bridge circui; Ibr two or tour maglletozesislors
which have equal and opposite temperature coefficients including temperature compensation feedback via the silicon tempera-
to the magnetoresistance sensors in the bridge. lure s~n~r KTY83 (Courtesy of Philips),
 D.J. Mupps Scuaor.v uml ~lcmuror,~ .4 59 t l~)7) 9 19 13

Magnel0resi~nv¢ResFm~¢ Mr

,.I , MR cu f~r ~

USEN'S
MPS

.~ -._2.: ...... " . . . . .
ae t
It (O~rsl~tls)
l"ig, 5. Showing rising and lhlling pans of an M-R churaclefisti¢ with
h,'.,sleresis. {t.)P:)'- indicnles the extent of lhe linear regions of tile
characteristics.
5. flurkheusen nuise
Changing the state of magnetisation in ferromagnetic
films is not a continuous process, especially if viewed at
the mieromagnetie level Any stable magnetic slate
corresponds with it minimum in the total magnetic
energy in the material and this energy varies with,
amongst other things, a change in the direction of the
magnetic vector the very thing which gives rise to the
change in electron scattering which is the basis of the
magnetoresistance effect. The energy transition between
two oppositely magnetised states--Ms and + M~ is
indicated in Fig. 6(a).
As can be seen, there is a general energy minimum
corresponding to the conrad demagnelised state, but
there are also a large number of small minima. These
can represent pseudo-stable states causing the magneti-
Barkhauscn Noise
Fig. 7. Remancnl magneti:,ation loop shinning narkhausea's jumps.
sation to lag behind the applied field, ~ving rise to the
well-known phenomenon of hysteresis and coerovity.
This is usually even more significant where the magneti-
sation is not a single magnetic domain. For a multi-do-
main state, we can plot the rate of ehan~ of enerD"
with distance mov~ of the domain wall as shown in
Fig. 6(b). This shows a series of irreversible jumps
giving rise to a cocrcivity according to the equation
IdE
The irreversible jumps in ma~etisation lead to similar
jumps in magnetoresistance and the general effect
known as Barkhausen noise after the name of the
discoverer in 1917 (Ref. [6]). A ~manent magnetisation
loop showing Barkhaasen's jumps is shown in Fig. 7. A
raagnetoresistive response with and without
Barkhausen noise is shown in Fig. 8.
i si.~ ~Tl.l-'~--m.l--,
i I

,.i I\ F :! I .o,ooom ,o
ENERGY ~ i
I , I
i i
I I .. I
-M s 0 *M s
&'~i[fle[il. eit~2f)~y V~E~LL~nl;Igll~li2;lUt)l~.

ddE[ |-. IRREVERSIBLEJUMPS q

1 DISTANCE

Fig, 6, Barkhausen Noise. (al Magnetic energy versus magnetisation;

H~ :, 2AI~a~
0

A p'.lhed tt ~'Id
"t'

(b) magnetic energy and eluagy grldieut versus domain wall position Fig. 8, Showing Ib¢ inca:n~¢ in &irkhau~n noi~ for lhe multi-do-
sho~ing irreversible and reversible motions. main slal.a.
 D.J. .tlapps St,usors am/Actua/ol;s .4 59 (19971 9.19
Coercivityvs. 'l'hickncssof PermalloyFilm
~S¢6¢d ~rLs4
~fiest 4-Serks2
3I
2.75
2.5
.?.25
2 N6el wall has much lower energy mid greater width at
2 .2
~l,7S
1.5
1.25
l,
0.7S'
0.5.
0.25.
0 I I I I 1 I I t I I 0
2.5 7.5 II1 12.5 IS 17.5 20 22.5 25 27.5 J0
"lhichnos of t~:razdloy Films (nm)
Fig. 9. Fourdi~'rent ca"esall showa minimumin coereivitywilh
thicknessat about 7.5 rim.
From Eq. (7) it can be seen that the rate of change of
energy with distance moved by the domain wall is most
important so to study the effect it is necessary to know
how the material energies vary with domain wall posi-
tion and especially the energy of the domain wall itself.
To this end, a large number of publications have been
produced and it has been shown that wall energy is a
function of the volume of the material it occupies so
when part of the wall moves to a point where it
occupies less volume (e.g. when it becomes shorter
because of an edge defect in the film or when it
intersects a non-magnetic inclusion) this represents a
low energy state. The depth of the local energy minima
depends on the size of the defect or inclusion and the
type and thickness of the domain wall• Therelbre, since
domain walls in thin-films usually interact with the top
and bottom surfaces of the film, surface roughness
becomes an important factor in determining
Barkhausen noise and coercivity. These factors become
less evident as the film thickness increases resulting in a
decrease in eoercivity with increasing thickness given
by,
Hc~t -~
Eq. (8) has produced good correlation with experiment
(e.g. Ref. [7]) for thicker films but recent work has
shown that lbr films thinner than about 30 nm the
coercivity reduces to a minimum such as shown in Fig.
9.
Magnetoresistance curves (see Fig. 10) conlirm the
3 lower Barkhaasen noise in ultra-thin films. A possible
i
explanation for the effect is in the fact that below "lbout
2,7S
40 nm the domain wall magnctisation changes from
2.5 being mostly perpendicular to the film plane (e.g. 180°
Bloeh Walls) to mostly par',dlel to the film phme (e.g.
225 N~el Walls). As cart be seen from Fig. I l(c) and (d), the
low film thicknesses, so the change in wall energy
• 1.75 ~ caused by reduced volume interactions with the surface
for the N6el wall is probably lower due to the fact that
• I,S it occupies a greater span of the sttrt;ace area at any
moment.
• 1.25
The consequent change in overall wall energy due to
"l
an incremental change in wall position is correspond-
ingly less. This argument also applies when considering
• O.Tfi the origin of that part ol" the coercivity which comes
from non-magnetic inclusions, as long as the inclusions
• (k5
are generally smaller in diameter than the thickness of
.0,25 the Ndel wall. For film thicknesses smaller than about 5
nm the films of Fig. 9 become discontinuous leading to
a large increase in non-magnetic 'holes' and corre-
sponding increase in coereivity and noise.
6. S i z e effects
Eq, (3) shows that the demagnetising field energy
depends on the demagnetising factor N~ of the ferro-
magnetic thin-film. This is transported into Eq. (4)
implying that the final relationship between the field HR
and the fractional magnctoresistancc change (see Eq.
15)). also depends on No.
Demagnetising t:actors for a gener.'tl dlipsoidal shape
ha,,e been calculated and may be found in recent
I.I
b
.= I
b ~SOA
~u:
/I/I ,
(8)
Aplied Fidd (Oe)
Fig. I0, Magne~oNsistanc¢ curves for tour sensors showing how the
thinnerfilmsc,ihibit lessuoi4e(and lesshysteresis).
 D J . ,Ihtpp~ .%m,)r~ am/Actuators A : 9 (lOt~7) 9 19 15

(era)

','vail ener]y

(a)

I i0-¢

I
I I I o_q
r ~°-~ r- i IO0 I000 I~0~1 I0~0~0
I I Film I~)¢krez.%
()) ~,,)

A Blechwall i. a Ill&lfilm: {i) s1'i¢1/2. [It)N~J'I all;'o~mat~°n of ~781 N~ 19Fefllm

Componoa~ ol maonotizalion
normal ~ ~lant. of wall t
i
i
,tl ! .1~ 1

~ F o o i
I o_j m4~.Ir
14- £
I n
I t =
I ] ,,~

i ,\\>./,
V
I
1~rotJ~h Iho ~,~11
G)
~e Ned *~,dl; ( ) ib~tt~. (]il Nid'l i,l~p,ol,,,i,a:.,,i

Fig. I I. (a) Sltucture of a alodl ~'all in a thin-lihn: Ill stricllv lib N&:l's approximation. (b) Slruclure of a N&'I wall: {i) strictly: (ii) N~l's
approximation. It) Bloch willl t~llcr~/yand tlfickncss plotted against film thk:kncss. (d) as tbr Ic) but data Ibr a N,~'el '.,,all.

papers, but the original work was produced by Oshorn
(ReF. [8]), D¢magnctising factors lbr non-dlipsoidal
shapes vary from point to point in the volume of the
material (e.g. Ballistic Demagnetising Factors) and
those for multi-domain systems are very difficult to
compute.
Most size effects in maguetoresistors have been
analysed on the basis of a single domain model and
making various assumptions about linearity (see Ret:
[3]). In general, the sensitivity of a reetanguhtr thin-film
magnetorefistor when an in-plane field is ,'~pplied in a
direction transverse to its long axis depends inversely on
the quantity t/h (or t/w) which is the approximate value
of its demagnetising factor in this direction. Therefore,
any attempt to reduce its size (h or w) in the plamLr
direction meets with a corresponding increase in the
demagnetising field and a reduction in sensitivity. Con-
sequently, in recent times, thin-film magnetorcsistors
have b~om¢ thinner in order to preserve sensitivity in
a smaller sensor, A thickness of 12 nm has been re-
ported recently by IBM in a prototype magnetic disk
head (Ref. 191).
Clearly another option to increase sensitivity is to
increase the effective height (or width) and this can be
done selectively by forming the thin-film in a castellated
structure (~'e Ref. [10]) as shown in Fig. 12(a). This
produces a magnetoresistor with several magnetic do-
mains arranged as shown in Fig. 12(b). The transverse
shape-anisotropy imparted by the castdlations (or 'fins')
and the greater mobility of the domain walls compared
with rotational magnetic vector changes cause the trans-
verse magnetoresistive sensitivity to be much higher as
shown by the loop comparisons of Fig, 13. Analysis of
such magnetoresistors is complex and designing for low
noise is a non-trivial task although much can be
achieved with suitable electronic drive circuitry.
 D,J. ,llapp~ ,Scnsor.~uml AiTttnmr,~ A 59 (19971 9 Iq

Castellated Structure

....11 ! i !i ' ~ ::'";,

(a)

Effect of
Ilema~tleliled Stale Transverse Field

ii /
i l~" 1, i Fig. 14, T w o 3fifi* magnetoresistor otapnls and a .single d i f f m ' n t i a l
output I~r a doubk,,-bitilar magneloresistor with two serpenlines
It~ '-- ?~!! J :,¢quentially biased in oppt~site directions.

the curves shown in Fig. 8 or 13 can present serious

I, ' ' problems, It is usually better to 'bias' the sensor to the
Main I.:[emelll MgM~]¢nilfll • ~" linear part of the characteristic by applying u steady
Fig. 12. (a) A mstelhlted magnetorcsislive strip. Ib) Magneli¢ domain
transverse field from a magnet or from some other
structure in three nf the cnstellatinns ,,r part (n). (¢) The effect nf source. Therdbre, the applied field H~ of Fig. 2la) can
tmns',rerse field in expanding Ihe pumllcl-mugnetised domains at Ihe be assumed to be made up of two components as
expense of lhe anti-parallel domains. shown in Fig. 2(b). One component is the transvme
bias field Hh aud the other a variable dlr~ction compo-
7, General magnetic field magneloresistives e n s o r s nent H~ (at an angle [t) to be detected by the sensor,
The relationship between the sensed field angle a and
This category of magnetoresistors can be placed in a the other variables is given by:
magnetic field to produce an output proportional to the
field strength averaged over the space occupied by the ,I-n, + H, sin/~7
sensor. Usually, the field is sensibly constant (e.g. the =tun /- ' ' "'~ .... / (9)
earth's field in a compass :lpplication) over the sensor
i n~coslJ J
area which covers a few tens of micrometers in the
Assuming that the demagnetising factor in the --direc-
planar directions.
tion is zero (film thickness <<the other film dimensions)
As has been mentioned, finearity of response must be and that in the x-direction is negligible (as long as the
considered so operation about the zero field point on
magnetorcsistor is long and nurrowk a graph of frac-
tional resistance can be plotted against fl using Eqs. (4),
(6) and (91, This assumes that the sensor rotates in its
14" own plane through 361)°, Clearly, if the bias field direc-
] ~ sl:aidltelement tion is reversed then the phase of the otttput is reversed
so if two oppositely biased sensors are used together
.~ i• castellated ~tructur¢ with a differential amplifier, a doubling or the output
occurs as shown in the curve of Fig. 14, this differential
oK,
technique also corrects for some small linearity error
~ u6- caused by the asymmetry of that putt of the response
characteristic being used.
To correct for temperature drift it is necessary to
have both differential magnetoresistors as nearly us
possible identical and so it is convenient to fabricate
•: -2o 2e 40 6~ ~0 them from the same thin-film and make them intertwine
-oz
with each other. This means that to bias each serpen-
tine in opposite directions is not possible with a general
Aplied Field (Oe) magnet field so a differential bias conductor system is
Fig. 13. Illustrating the improvement in transverse field sensitivity of overlaid on to the magnetic film serpentines to obtain
the castdlated magnetoresistor over a straight element. This occurs ill the correct fields. Such a system is shown in Fig. 15
the expense of some hysleresis. which is re-printed from Rcf. [I I],
 D.J. Mapps Seasars ond A<'tt~ttor.; .,f 59 (1997J 9 19

8, Mugnetoresistivescarers for magnetic recording AREAL DENSITY OF HARD DISK

The requirement for more powerful personal comput-

ers has provided a strong need for research in magne- 100M
toresistor technology. This is because more powerfitl
O 8,10.14 i n ~ & 10G1~2
computers need to store information at high packing (AnnouncCd'l
5.25inches V
densities in computer hard disk systems. The increase in E 10M • ~5 inches Perpendicular
areal packing density on hard disks is proceeding at A 2 S inches M a r c Reeo~i~J
60% per annum at the time of writing and most of this • 1.8 inches 0 2Gblin2
0 (Oemonslraf~l)

~
increase is due to the increasing use of thin-film magne- 1Gbhn2
~_ tM (Demonstrall~l)
toresistors in replay heads detecting recorded magnetic
changes in the disk coating at track widths approaching
w PRML
1 pro.
A basic magnetoresistive replay sensor is shown in 100K Tl'anF~ D MRHe~ls
w DiSk
Fig. 16. Its magnetisation is usually constrained along n,
the long axis of the stripe using :m inducing axial
f~in Film
m,'tgnctie field daring film deposition. The relationship 10K Heads
between magnetoresist:mce and magnetisation angle 0
is as d':fined in Eq. 16). If, in Fig, 2, the anisotropy HK year~
is fixed parallel to the film long axis. 7= zero. Also, if lO hm~/lo vear~
hath the bias field and the signal field from the disk tar I I I
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
tape) is transverse to the film long axis then :~= [;
YEAR
90". Substituting in Eq. (4) gives,
Fig. 16. Trend of the areal density or computer hard disk systems
Hvsin(90-d)-½H~sin20-½Ns.M~2#=O (10) sho~dng the change in slope of the trend with the introd~tion of
magnctorcsisti~eplaybackheads.
which reduces to:
and is the same as the well-known result o f Hunt (Ref.
5i0 0 H¥ (11 t
H~ + N~Ms 121)
Substituting cos" 0 as I - sin-" O in Eq. (6) gives the
fractional maggetoresistanec as:
,- , _bias condudor . . . . . [sig ( Hh - lk ~
h, - - ~ : ~'differenliol !J~:cow.'non
"--, jW/ . / H - R senses %~ :
,n : ::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "
i;: . : - , ; :! ~r2:: :! ::"'I and if H¥is made up a linear sum of a bias field Hh and
a signal field, h:,
( Hb+h,
(,,, - ~,,,1 a~, = I - \ ~ / (1:3)

All the items on the R.H,S. of Eq. (13) are constants

:ii except h~ so when the numerator is squared the only

contributors are 2H~/*~ and (hr) -~. Since hy is small
compared with Hh the active component of the equa-
tion gives:
(p - p.),Ap x h~

A plot of the tractional magnetoresistance change

against total transverse field Hv is shown in Fig. 17.
lsig-~_ ~ j ~ l b !: The experimental curve deviates from the theoretical
curve becanse of saturation effects and produces a
t/Isi " ' - ~ " :[l. ~ '---'" out :~ point of inflation where there is a linear portion. If the
// ..... "~'-:::i::::::::::::-':'::::::"" bias field H~,is used to bias the sensor at this point then
sense sideways displocement a signal field from the disk or tape produces a near,lin-
currents of bias serpentines
ear change in magnetoresistance. Unfortunately, the
Fig. 15. The strucUlr¢or the ina~llctort:sistivcsensoru~d tbr the field from the recording medium faUs off rapidly with
curvesof Fig, 14. distance an to obtain the output voltage (say from a
 D.J. Mapp~ ,.%nsorsmu; Actuators A 59 (19~7) 9 19

differential sensor) the field must be integrated over the

volume of the sensor to produce the output voltage
equation:

V = 21Ru.Ap/p.. H~(H~.+ NvMs)-'j~h~()..)

,S•N
NJ'11agnc~
Iq
jlt I}II
II
bias
hard eumnt
".t
~ ~I

do' d -
x ~'~//vohs (14) fit I #i ~ J
The art of using such sensors in practice involves t % ,_~
paying attention to such things as Barkhausen noise.
temperature drift and biasing methods. In particular.
there have been many bias schemes devised for use of I~tw~n
l shieMs
the sensors in magnetic recording. Some of these are layer
shown in Fig. 18.
An inter-digitated scheme has also been devised and
patented (see Ref. [1211 as shown in Fig. 19. This
differential scheme achieves increased output, tempera. /
lure correction and integral self-biasing for numbers of
sensors placed on top of each other from two upwards. IJatberpolc
A &element so-called inter-digitated sensor was fab-
ricated and found to have superior output magnitude in
a magnetic recording application, The two-element ver- 1 I •
sion of this system is not receiving new interest as a
replay head for computer disks. NiVe gl~l
ek menUinler.di~ila/ed

FiE. 18. Showing a range of allernutivc magnetic biasing techniques

9. Scope for magnetoresistive sensors in other
applications
As can be seen from Table l, there are now a vast
range o f applications for magnetoresistive sensors and
as the technology further develops, through the 'Giant"
and so-called 'Colossal' magnetoresistive effects twhich
are beyond the scope of this paper), the use and utilisa-
tion of magnetoresistors in many aspects of modern
devices and systems will become commonplace.
employed in magnetic replay beuds. Tile barber pole (item 61 is alst'~
used in the Pbilips M-R ~ensor,
I0, Conclusions
1. Magnetoresistive sensors have established an impor-
tant position in the hierarchy of magnetic sensors.
2. M-R sensor technology is still at an early stage ofits
development.
3. Intense research eftbrt in applying magnetoresistors
in the data storage industry is ensuring that signifi-
cant technical advances will continue to be made in
the foreseeable future.

0- ~ po~,,0¢i.n,ctioa
Hb

resistivity varialion

/ ] \'x experimental
t~pe
H r= Ho
"1signal field
from tape
Fig. 19. An interdigitated replay head structure for two or more (6
Fig. 17. The magnetoresistlvetransfer characteristic used in magnetic are shown) magnetoresistivethin-films which self-bias to reduce tem-
rccordlng. perature drd't and improve output magnitude.
 D.J. Uapps Sensars and :ft
Acknowledgements
Thanks is extended to the University of Plymouth
and researchers at the Centre for Research in Informa-
tion Storage Technology. in particular, Mr. Nick Fry
and Mrs. Yongqin Ma Tan for technical contributions
and Mrs. S. Hicks for typing the manuscript.
References
[I] J.E. Lenz, A reviewof magnetic sensors. Pr,c IEEE. 78 (hi
(1990) 973 989.
[2] R,P. tlunt, A magnetorcsisti~ereadout Irlmsducer,Prm'. IEEE
Trims, ,thigh,,Mag - 7 ( I } ( 19711.
[3] D.J. Mapps. Magnetoresistance.in Applied Ma~.neti,~m, ISBN
0-7923-2622-9, Kluwer, Dordrccht, 1994.
[4] Philips El,.'ctronicComponemsand MaterialsTechnicalPublica-
tion No. 268.
[~] D.J, Mapps. N. Fry and D, Smith, Non-linear magnetoresis-
hlnce, N~mli,car Eh'c'trrmlugm'tic' Srstcm.~. Vol. I0, lOS Press.
1996. ISBN ~1 5199 251 3.
[6] H Barkhansen, Phys. Zeits, 20(19191411[-403.
n~ztors :[ 59 0997) 9 19
[7] D.J. Mapps, M.A. Akhter and G. Pan. Co~'att niobh=m iron
soft magneticback layersfor glass comput,.,rdisks, Am. J. AppL
P/l:'.,:.. 69(g) (19~1) 5178 518[i.
[8] J+A. Osbom, Dt.~la~mctisingI'acto~ of the general ellipsoid,
Ph):~. Rt,r., 67 ( I 1,12)(1945) ?lSI-.357.
19] C, T~mg, H. Santini, D, Mf.Ce,wn, J, Lo and R, Leg,3 Gb i n ='
recordingdemonstration~',ithdual elementht~.dsand thin film
disks, IEEE Trans..llagn.. 32 1I) 119961 7 12,
[llJI D.J. Mapp~. I.:.K. Patent Nu. 21694)4. 20 Sept. (19991.
[11] D.J. Mapps. U.K. Patent No. 220263:~, 8Nor. 119911.
[121 D.J. Mapps, U.K Patent .\)J, 214307L 2,~ Oct, 11997),
B~a~ies
D.J. Mapps is Professor of Information Storage En-
gineering at the University of Plymouth, U.K. He has
authored or co-authored more than 100 publications as
well as a book chapter on Magnctoresistance. He is
currently head of the Centre for Research ~n Informa-
tion Storage Technology at Plymouth. He is a Fellow
of the U.K. Institution of Electrical Engineers and the
U.K. Institute of Physics.