In situ magnetoresistance experiment: First results on Au/Co/Au sandwiches

A new experiment for ‘in situ’ measurements of the resistance of thin metallic films during their deposition has been carried out. A coil installed in the vacuum chamber produces a variable magnetic field in order to study also the magnetoresistance of magnetic films. The first results obtained with the Au/Co system are presented. We show that the magnetoresistance effect increases when a gold coverage restores a good reflectivity for the conduction electrons. The coercive field of ferromagnetic cobalt layers depends on the coverage thickness, in good agreement with previous studies.