Inclination angle dependence of magnetoresistance signals in thin magnetic films

Magnetic films of nickel and iron with thickness of 200 A were placed with a certain inclination angle. Then, the magnetoresistance (MR) was measured by rotating the inclined film samples around an axis perpendicular to the applied magnetic field. We observed a transition from P(positive)MR to N(negative)MR, which depended on the rotation angle φ. A mixing of the PMR and the NMR signals in the MR was observed, and the complete mixing angle, φmix, of the PMR and NMR signals in the MR was found to strongly depend on the inclination angle of the film. The dependence of this angle, φmix, on the inclination angle for the nickel film could be understood by decomposing the magnetic field into components parallel and perpendicular to the current in the plane of the film. However, the variation of the behavior of φmix with the inclination angle for the iron film was observed to be different from that for the nickel film. This difference may come from the fact that the film surface of the iron film is an intermediate plane of magnetization while the film surface of the nickel film is an easy plane of magnetization