Magnetoresistive effects in perpendicularly magnetized Tb-Co alloy based thin films and spin valves

Tb-Co ferrimagnetic alloy thin films and spin valves have been grown to study their magnetoresistance response in various geometries. The studied Tb-Co alloys show strong perpendicular anisotropy and tunable magnetization by several orders of magnitude. Magnetoresistance signals such as giant magnetoresistance (GMR), anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR), extraordinary Hall effect (EHE), and magnon magnetoresistance (MMR) have been studied. The angular dependence of those magnetoresistive effects is also investigated. Finally we demonstrate that by adjusting the Tb-Co layer composition in a spin valve structure, the sign and the amplitude of the GMR and EHE signal can be tuned. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3703666]