What is Magnetic Annealing

The key to the manufacture of magnetoelectronic devices has been the development of highly magnetoresistive thin films, namely giant magnetoresistance (GMR), and the related spin valve sandwich in metallic multilayered and magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) structures. The most basic construction a simple spin valve structure consisting of three layers, two ferromagnetic layers with a metal layer between them. The MTJs are sandwiches of two ferromagnetic layers separated by a thin insulating layer.

In both cases one of the ferromagnetic layers is pinned by exchange bias to an antiferromagnetic layer.

This pinning of one of the ferromagnetic layers is achieved by annealing the layer in a magnetic field at a specified temperature. This annealing process aligns the spin of the electrons in the pinned layer in one direction.

The MRT Series of magnetic annealing systems is used throughout the data storage and semiconductor industry in this step of the production of magneto-electronic devices.