Thin-film magneto-impedance structures with very large sensitivity

•Record MI sensitivity of 300%/Oe (27 kΩ/T) in thin-film based structures.•Disclosed the optimum configuration of films in sandwich multilayered samples.•Finite Element calculations shown to insightfully help to maximize performance.•To match simulations and experiment, the measuring circuit must be accounted for.

Thin film-based Magneto-Impedance (MI) structures are well suited for developing highly sensitive magnetic microsensors, which can be directly integrated into microelectronic circuits. Permalloy (Py) based structures benefit from well-established preparation procedures and enhanced structural stability over amorphous based sensors. In this work we use Finite Element Method calculations to complement our previous studies on high permeability Py multilayers, in order to determine the combination of magnetic and non-magnetic layers that maximizes the MI performance in sandwiched structures. The results indicate that optimum behavior is expected when the thickness of the non-magnetic layer equals the magnetic ones. The study is performed with an open flux configuration (Py not enclosing the central non-magnetic conductor), which permits the fabrication of the complete stack of layers in a single deposition process. On the outcome of that analysis, samples with a sandwiched multilayer structure defined as [Py(100 nm)/Ti(6 nm)]4/Cu(400 nm)/[Ti(6 nm)/Py(100 nm)]4 have been prepared by magnetron sputtering and photolithography, having different dimensions. They were magnetically characterized by magneto-optical Kerr effect, displaying a well-defined transversal anisotropy, and the MI was measured in a network analyzer using a microstrip test-fixture. The measured MI ratio, defined as (Z-Zmin)/Zmin×100, reaches extraordinary values of 350%, while the sensitivity, calculated as the field derivative of the MI ratio, goes up to 300%/Oe (27 kΩ/T in absolute units). The MI ratio is lower than the best reported previously for amorphous CoSiB/Ag/CoSiB thin-film samples with closed-flux structure, but the sensitivity, which is the key parameter for the performance of sensors, is six times larger. These figures can be compared favorably with the ones obtained in wire-based samples, and definitely opens the way to incorporate thin-film structures in low-field MI magnetic sensors.

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