Spin valve with non-collinear magnetization configuration imprinted by a static magnetic field

To control the angle between magnetizations in two adjacent ferromagnetic layers without using a rotator, a novel spin valve was designed and fabricated. A key element of the design is a replacement of a pinned ferromagnetic layer by a synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF). The predefined non-collinear magnetization configurations are produced by cooling the valve in different magnetic fields. Giant magnetoresistance (GMR) measurements allowed mapping of the angle between the magnetizations in the SAF and the free layer depending on the magnitude of the cooling field.