Anisotropic and giant magnetoresistive elements

Abstract

The technology of magnetoresistive element (MRE) fabrication and integration as well as some experimental results on the performance of anisotropic and giant magnetoresistive elements are discussed. Most emphasis is put on isolated MREs in specially designed test structures, although results on completed heads will also be discussed. Aspects such as output signal level, noise level, distortion and magnetic stability are the performance indicators considered.