Correlation of Giant Magnetoresistance with Interfacial Roughness in Co/Cu Superlattices

We investigate the relationship between the magnetoresistance and the interfacial roughness of Co/Cu superlattices whose interface structures are varied by changing sputtering methods, varying sputtering gas pressure and annealing temperatures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments have revealed that the root mean square roughness determined from low-angle XRD spectra is a good measure to evaluate the interfacial roughness which determines the areal occupation of antiferromagnetically coupled regions and the magnetoresistance ratio.