Thermal Property Measurements of Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) Layers

Abstract

Advanced thin-film growth technology has made it possible to arrange different materials at the atomic level and to fabricate thin-film structures (e.g., GMR) with strong quantum effects. GMR devices appear in two important areas of storage technology: GMR sensors for magnetic read heads, and Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM). The former is a well-established commercial technology, in which nanoscale thermal transport is related to reliability, through electrostatic discharge (ESD) events as well as performance. In MRAM, the nanoscale thermal transport limits device ultimate performance, but may also present an opportunity for assisted switching. The thermal transport properties of these thin periodic layers play an important role in design, performance and reliability of these devices, which are fundamentally different from their bulk counterparts [1,2].