Effects of different Pt intercalation locations on the transport properties of spin-polarized electrons in NiFe films

•Pt was intercalated into different interfaces of a simple Ta/NiFe/Ta structure, forming new Ta/Pt/NiFe/Ta and Ta/NiFe/Pt/Ta structures.•Different Pt intercalation locations significantly affected the transport properties of spin-polarized electrons.•Pt intercalation introduced to the different interfaces could significantly affect the microstructure of subsequently deposited layers, leading to a large difference in magnetoresistance.

Platinum (Pt), which exhibits strong spin–orbit coupling interactions, was inserted into different interface locations in Ta/NiFe/Ta films. The different Pt intercalation locations significantly affected the magnetoresistance (MR) and microstructure of the NiFe films. When Pt was 1.6 nm thick, the difference in the MRs of the NiFe films reached the maximum, and the MR (2.65%) of the Ta/Pt/NiFe/Ta film was higher than that (2.36%) of the Ta/NiFe/Pt/Ta film. Therefore, Pt intercalation in different interfaces significantly affects the subsequently deposited NiFe layer (for the Ta/Pt/NiFe/Ta films) and Ta layer (for the Ta/NiFe/Pt/Ta films) and thus results in a large difference in MRs.