Low-temperature crystallisation of Heusler alloy films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

We demonstrate that perpendicular anisotropy can be induced in Co₂FeAl_0.5Si_0.5 by depositing the Heusler alloy on a tungsten seed layer. This is increased by elevating the deposition temperature to a moderate value up to 335 K. These perpendicular layers can be implemented into GMR devices, showing layer-thickness dependent switching without the use of an antiferromagnetic pinning-layer. These layers can be implemented into the manufacturing process of read-heads, where temperatures are limited.