Open AccessNumerical modeling of giant magnetoresistance effect for application to magnetic data storage. CRADA final report for CRADA number Y-1293-0175
Author(s) -
W. H. Butler,
B. A. Gurney
Publication year - 1996
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/461241
Subject(s) - giant magnetoresistance , magnetoresistance , magnetoresistive random access memory , ibm , magnetic field , magnetic storage , computer data storage , materials science , random access memory , physics , computer science , nanotechnology , computer hardware , operating system , quantum mechanics
The giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect is a change in the electrical resistance of a magnetically inhomogeneous material that occurs when an applied magnetic field aligns the magnetic moments in different regions of the material. GMR allows the development of very small and sensitive devices for detecting and measuring magnetic fields. Such devices have many applications including the sensing of data on magnetic disk drives and in magnetic random access memory cells. This Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between Lockheed Martin Energy Systems and IBM Almaden Research Center was a joint experimental and theoretical program to obtain a better understanding of the giant magnetoresistance effect with the goal of optimizing the effect for application to magnetic data storage devices. The CRADA was successful in developing a detailed microscopic understanding of GMR and in pointing out strategies for increasing the GMR effect