Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
Giant magnetoresistance values exceeding 65% at room temperature are reported in antiferromagnetically coupled Co/Cu multilayers grown on Fe buffer layers using magnetron sputter deposition. For such samples the saturation fields exceed 10 kOe. However by taking advantage of the rapid decrease of the Co interlayer magnetic exchange coupling with increasing Cu spacer layer thickness, large magnetoresistance values exceeding 35% can be obtained at room temperature for saturation fields of just a few hundred oersted.