Anisotropic magnetoresistance of Ni81Fe19 films on NiFeNb buffer layer

•NiFeNb as a buffer layer of Ni81Fe19 film are investigated.•The AMR of (Ni81Fe19)80.7Nb19.3(4 nm)/Ni81Fe19(20 nm)/Ta(3 nm) films reach to the maximum 3.76%.•The reasons for AMR increasing are analyzed from the structure and surface morphology of the film.

This paper is concerned with anisotropic magnetoresistance of Ni81Fe19 Films on NiFeNb buffer layer. The (Ni81Fe19)1−xNbx(t nm)/Ni81Fe19(20 nm)/Ta(3 nm) films are prepared with a direct current magnetron sputtering system under appropriate conditions. Influence of t, x, and substrate temperature on AMR are investigated. AMR value of Ni81Fe19 films, crystal orientation, grain size and surface morphology of the films are measured by Four-point probe technology, XRD and AFM, respectively. The experimental result shows that NiFeNb is superior to the buffer layer Ta in enhancing AMR value of Ni81Fe19 films. The AMR value of Ni81Fe19(20 nm) films can be reached to the maximum 3.76% under the optimum conditions in which the buffer layer thickness is 4 nm, the Nb percentage content is 19.3%, and the substrate temperature is 450 °C.