Bias-free Magnetoresistive Sensors

Information Technology industry has identified smart systems as the new technological revolution. Sensors are the key components of such systems. From vehicles to smartphones, every modern system is packed up with sensors. Besides, smart sensors and systems are believed to be the best hope for dealing with the growing environmental problems.In smart systems, sensors play an important role because they form the link between mechanical and electronic systems. Magnetic sensors are widely used to measure mechanical quantities because they allow contact-less and, therefore, wear-free measurements. In particular, magneto-resistive sensors can be easily integrated with the semiconductor technology.The goal of this project is to develop novel magneto-resistive sensors with better performance as compared to those currently employed in the industry. The sensors we here propose are still solid–state magnetoresistive devices but the magnetic configuration is different from the currently used spin-valve. This allows overcoming the two major limitations of the current magneto-resistive sensors: reliability at high temperatures and necessity of a bias magnet.Materials and fabrication techniques will be used that are low cost and compatible with the current industry technologies, with the aim to pursue integration of these new sensors with the semiconductor electronics and fast commercialization. The choice of the magnetic materials, for instance, will be restricted to standard ferromagnetic metals to be grown on Silicon substrates.