Magnetoimpedance in electrodeposited NiFe/Cu composite wires: A study on role of in-situ stress

Microstructure, magnetic and magnetoimpedance properties of Ni80Fe20 (Permalloy) films electrodeposited onto a 100 μm copper wire under varying stress have been investigated. It is found that the magnetoimpedance and field sensitivity values decreased by ∼50% and 70% on application of maximum stress 24.9 MPa. Present analysis shows that the crystallite size increases with stress, which in turn controls permeability and MI. The skin depth also seem to depend on microstructural changes which also affects the MI significantly. Comparison of our experimental data to the results obtained from numerical simulations based on Maxwell's and Landau-Lifshitz equations show good agreement. The magnetic measurements are supported by the relative permeability values extracted from the MI data. Present results suggest that MI parameters, such as field sensitivity, MI% and fmax can also be tuned by applying the stress on the sample during preparation. •Microstructure, magnetic, and magnetoimpedance properties of composite films NiFe/Cu with varying stress during electrodeposition has been investigated for the first time.•By controlling the microstructure or crystallite size it is possible to tune the skin depth and hence MI.•The variation GMI has also been investigated through numerical simulations, by incorporating a magnetoelastic stress component. It is found that magnetoimpedance decreases with stress which is consistent with the experimental results.•MI can be tuned by applying stress during the deposition of composite wires.•From the least square fits to MI data the magnetic and electrical parameters were evaluated. Therefore, from the present study, we conclude that the MI parameters, such as field sensitivity, MI, and fmax can also be tuned by applying stress.