Tunnel-valve and spin-valve structures with in situ in-stack bias

Tunnel-valve and spin-valve structures with in situ in-stack bias were discussed. The dependence of coupling fields and pinning fields on the spacer thickness, the bias layer structure, the bias layer magnetization and anneling conditions were studied. It was found that it is possible to optimize the parameters to obtain IrMn bias energies greater than 0.3 erg/cm2 which makes the in-stack bias stabilization stable.