US20030038106A1 - Enhanced ion beam etch selectivity of magnetic thin films using carbon-based gases - Google Patents

Enhanced ion beam etch selectivity of magnetic thin films using carbon-based gases Download PDF

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US20030038106A1
US20030038106A1 US10/217,236 US21723602A US2003038106A1 US 20030038106 A1 US20030038106 A1 US 20030038106A1 US 21723602 A US21723602 A US 21723602A US 2003038106 A1 US2003038106 A1 US 2003038106A1
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magnetic
etch
magnetic material
mask
layer
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Mark Covington
Michael Seigler
Eric Singleton
Michael Minor
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Seagate Technology LLC
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Seagate Technology LLC
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
    • G11B5/127—Structure or manufacture of heads, e.g. inductive
    • G11B5/31—Structure or manufacture of heads, e.g. inductive using thin films
    • G11B5/3109—Details
    • G11B5/3116—Shaping of layers, poles or gaps for improving the form of the electrical signal transduced, e.g. for shielding, contour effect, equalizing, side flux fringing, cross talk reduction between heads or between heads and information tracks
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B82—NANOTECHNOLOGY
    • B82Y—SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
    • B82Y25/00—Nanomagnetism, e.g. magnetoimpedance, anisotropic magnetoresistance, giant magnetoresistance or tunneling magnetoresistance
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B82—NANOTECHNOLOGY
    • B82Y—SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
    • B82Y40/00—Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
    • G11B5/127—Structure or manufacture of heads, e.g. inductive
    • G11B5/31—Structure or manufacture of heads, e.g. inductive using thin films
    • G11B5/3163—Fabrication methods or processes specially adapted for a particular head structure, e.g. using base layers for electroplating, using functional layers for masking, using energy or particle beams for shaping the structure or modifying the properties of the basic layers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01F—MAGNETS; INDUCTANCES; TRANSFORMERS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
    • H01F41/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties
    • H01F41/14—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties for applying magnetic films to substrates
    • H01F41/18—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties for applying magnetic films to substrates by cathode sputtering
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01F—MAGNETS; INDUCTANCES; TRANSFORMERS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
    • H01F41/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties
    • H01F41/14—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties for applying magnetic films to substrates
    • H01F41/30—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties for applying magnetic films to substrates for applying nanostructures, e.g. by molecular beam epitaxy [MBE]
    • H01F41/302—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties for applying magnetic films to substrates for applying nanostructures, e.g. by molecular beam epitaxy [MBE] for applying spin-exchange-coupled multilayers, e.g. nanostructured superlattices
    • H01F41/308—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing or assembling magnets, inductances or transformers; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing materials characterised by their magnetic properties for applying magnetic films to substrates for applying nanostructures, e.g. by molecular beam epitaxy [MBE] for applying spin-exchange-coupled multilayers, e.g. nanostructured superlattices lift-off processes, e.g. ion milling, for trimming or patterning
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
    • H01J2237/30—Electron or ion beam tubes for processing objects
    • H01J2237/317—Processing objects on a microscale
    • H01J2237/31701—Ion implantation
    • H01J2237/31706—Ion implantation characterised by the area treated
    • H01J2237/3171—Ion implantation characterised by the area treated patterned
    • H01J2237/31713—Focused ion beam

Definitions

  • This invention relates to ion beam etching processes, and more particularly to the use of such processes in the manufacture of magnetic recording heads.
  • the first element is a write head that is used for writing data to the surface of a magnetic disc.
  • the second element is a read head including a magneto-resistive element or giant magneto-resistive element (“MR element”) that is used to read data from the surface of the disc.
  • the resistance of the MR element changes in the presence of a magnetic field so the MR element is used to sense magnetic transitions on the disc that have been previously written by the write element.
  • the recording head is typically housed within a small ceramic block called a slider. The slider is positioned near the rotating disc and separated from the surface of the disc by an air bearing.
  • Ni, Fe, and Co alloys tend to be physically hard materials that etch slowly, it is difficult to preferentially etch them with IBE
  • masking material must be made very thick because few materials etch more slowly than these alloys.
  • the IBE process must allow for a lot of over-etching into underlying material in order to fully define the magnetic structures.
  • Reactive etch processes for writer processing have been disclosed for etching the gap of a longitudinal writer in a notched pole process. Those reactive processes relate to CF 4 - or CHF 3 -based RIBE of an Al 2 O 3 gap, which is well known.
  • a method of etching a structure including a magnetic material includes providing a structure including a magnetic material, applying a mask material to at least a portion of the structure, and reactive ion beam etching the magnetic material using an etch process including a carbon based compound, wherein the mask material forms a material which etches slower than the magnetic material.
  • the etch process can further include argon ions.
  • the carbon based compound can be a compound selected from the group of C 2 H 2 , CHF 3 , and CO 2 .
  • the etch process can alternatively include argon ions, oxygen and either C 2 H 2 or CHF 3 .
  • the magnetic material can comprise a compound including a material selected from the group of Fe, Ni, and Co.
  • the mask material can comprise a layer of Ta, W, Mo, Si, Ti or a photoresist. Magnetic heads made using the process, and disc drives including such magnetic heads are also included.
  • FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a magnetic disc drive that can include magnetic heads constructed in accordance with this invention
  • FIG. 2 is a graph showing the etch rates for various materials using argon and acetylene reactive ion beam etching
  • FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relative etch selectivity for various materials using argon and acetylene reactive ion beam etching
  • FIG. 4 is a graph showing the etch rates for various materials using argon and CHF 3 reactive ion beam etching
  • FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relative etch selectivity for various materials using argon and CHF 3 reactive ion beam etching
  • FIG. 6 is an air bearing surface view of an intermediate structure formed during the manufacture of a magnetic write head
  • FIG. 7 is an air bearing surface view of another intermediate structure formed during the manufacture of a magnetic write head
  • FIG. 8 is an air bearing surface view of another intermediate structure formed during the manufacture of a magnetic write head
  • FIG. 9 is an air bearing surface view of another intermediate structure formed during the manufacture of a magnetic write head
  • FIG. 10 is an air bearing surface view of an intermediate structure formed during the manufacture of a magnetic read head
  • FIG. 11 is an air bearing surface view of another intermediate structure formed during the manufacture of a magnetic read head
  • FIG. 12 is an air bearing surface view of another intermediate structure formed during the manufacture of a magnetic read head
  • FIG. 13 is an air bearing surface view of another intermediate structure formed during the manufacture of a magnetic read head
  • FIG. 14 is a graph showing the etch rates for various materials using argon and CO 2 reactive ion beam etching.
  • FIG. 15 is a graph showing the relative etch selectivity for various materials using argon and CO 2 reactive ion beam etching
  • the process of this invention includes the combination of (1) carbon-based gases in an ion mill and (2) appropriate materials for hard masks and etch stops.
  • an ion mill with carbon-based gases in combination with Ta (and other materials) can be used to selectively etch Ni-, Fe-, and Co-alloys.
  • the reactive IBE process proposed in this application is a physical etch process, rather than a predominantly chemically driven process like RIE. No volatile compounds are formed.
  • the invention modifies the physical etch rates of various materials to permit preferential etching of one material with respect to another.
  • FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a disc drive 10 that can utilize magnetic heads constructed in accordance with this invention.
  • the disc drive includes a housing 12 (with the upper portion removed and the lower portion visible in this view) sized and configured to contain the various components of the disc drive.
  • the disc drive includes a spindle motor 14 for rotating at least one magnetic storage medium 16 within the housing, in this case a magnetic disc.
  • At least one arm 18 is contained within the housing 12 , with each arm 18 having a first end 20 with a recording and/or reading head or slider 22 , and a second end 24 pivotally mounted on a shaft by a bearing 26 .
  • An actuator motor 28 is located at the arm's second end 24 , for pivoting the arm 18 to position the head 22 over a desired sector of the disc 16 .
  • the actuator motor 28 is regulated by a controller that is not shown in this view and is well known in the art.
  • This invention provides anisotropic dry etch processes that can preferentially etch materials and can be used in the manufacture of magnetic recording heads.
  • the invention provides a reactive ion beam etch (RIBE) process that uses carbon-containing gases.
  • RIBE reactive ion beam etch
  • the invention seeks to achieve the highest possible etch selectivity of common magnetic materials and alloys by introducing reactive gases into an ion mill to form hard surface layers on potential masking materials. This is accomplished by using materials that form carbides that etch more slowly than Ni, Fe, Co, and their respective carbides. The likelihood of forming volatile compounds with this approach is remote, but this is of secondary importance since the ion mill can remove redeposited material from sidewalls by etching at an oblique angle.
  • This invention encompasses various processing schemes, which use a combination of a reactive etch gas and selected materials for hard masks and etch stops.
  • the reactive gases can be introduced into the Kaufman source of a standard ion mill, which creates ions in an inductively coupled plasma and accelerates them through a set of voltage-biased grids.
  • the process uses a mixture of acetylene (C 2 H 2 ) and Ar in a RIBE process.
  • Experimental data for the absolute etch rate of several materials as a function of the relative C 2 H 2 flow rate are shown in FIG. 2.
  • etch rate data for FeCoB, Ta, and AZ1505 photoresist are shown.
  • the data for other materials follow roughly the same trend, but have been omitted from the figure.
  • the total flow rate was 14, 15, and 17 SCCM for the relative flow rates of 0.714, 0.8, and 0.882, respectively.
  • the “medium” ion beam parameters used an acceleration voltage of 600 V, beam current of 300 mA, RF power of ⁇ 400 W, and a suppressor voltage of 400 V.
  • line 40 represents the etch rate for FeCoB
  • line 42 represents the etch rate for Ta
  • line 44 represents the etch rate for AZ1505 photoresist.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates the etch rate for a fixture angle of 45° but these data reflect the behavior observed for all fixture angles.
  • the data in FIG. 2 are representative of the overall trend we have observed in that the etch rate decreases as the relative amount of C 2 H 2 increases. Despite the overall decrease in the etch rate of FeCoB, the etch rates for Ta and photoresist decrease even faster.
  • FIG. 3 shows the etch selectivity of FeCoB with respect to Ta and AZ1505 photoresist, which is defined as the quotient of the etch rates of FeCoB and either Ta or photoresist.
  • the dashed line 46 indicates the best selectivity we have achieved using conventional Ar IBE and either W or high-quality Al 2 O 3 .
  • line 48 represents the selectivity for FeCoB/Ta
  • curve 50 represents the selectivity for FeCoB/AZ1505.
  • FIGS. 4 and 5 Another example process combines CHF 3 and Ar, and the data for the absolute etch rate and selectivity are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.
  • the parameters used to generate the data in FIG. 4 are the same as those used to generate the data of FIG. 2 except that CHF 3 has been used in place of acetylene.
  • curve 52 represents the etch rate for FeCoB
  • curve 54 represents the etch rate for NiFeCr
  • curve 56 represents the etch rate for W
  • curve 58 represents the etch rate for AZ1505 photoresist.
  • FIG. 5 shows etch selectivity as a function of relative CHF 3 flow rate.
  • the dashed line 46 in FIG. 5 is the same as in FIG. 3.
  • curve 60 represents the relative etch rate for FeCoB:W
  • curve 62 represents the selectivity for NiFeCr:W
  • curve 64 represents the relative etch rate for FeCoB:AZ1505
  • curve 66 represents the relative etch rate for NiFeCr:AZ1505.
  • Photoresist AZ1505 also exhibits improved selectivity by adding CHF 3 , although its selectivity remains below the best Ar IBE performance. For this process, there is a small “window” of CHF 3 flow rate in which the selectivity improves.
  • the relative flow rate of the CHF 3 to (CHF 3 +Ar) is preferably between 0.27 and 0.43, and more preferably between 0.3 and 0.4. While these data indicate that there is little latitude for process variations, it nevertheless illustrates that the process allows the use of different materials. This can be useful if, for example, W is a better choice than Ta as a mask or etch stop.
  • C-based RIBE processes included in this invention are not limited to these materials alone. Carbon-based RIBE can also be extended to a wider range of materials that form slower etching carbides, such as Mo, Si, and Ti.
  • C 2 H 2 or CHF 3 in a reactive etch are safer than other reactive gases, such as CO, CH 4 , and Cl, and thus arc more consistent with the desire to eliminate hazardous materials from disk drive production.
  • CHF 3 There are no safety provisions required for CHF 3 .
  • Acetylene is flammable but not toxic and, therefore, only requires a gas cabinet. Unlike a toxic gas, there is no need for expensive double-walled plumbing and gas monitors.
  • the reactive by-products we form on the wafer surface are presumably carbides, which are much safer than carbonyls and corrosive Cl by-products. Hence, there are no special safety provisions required for the ion mill exhaust.
  • FIGS. 6 - 9 show the application of carbon-based RIBE to writer fabrication.
  • the figures are schematics showing the air bearing surface (ABS) view for a fabrication sequence to build a top pole in a perpendicular writer.
  • FIG. 6 is a cross-section of the thin film multilayer with lithographically defined resist.
  • An Ar IBE process defines the resist pattern into the RIE mask (not shown).
  • a thin film multilayer structure 70 is deposited onto a planarized surface 72 in which a fraction of the surface contains an exposed portion of a write yoke.
  • a bottom layer 76 of Ta or W will serve as an etch stop.
  • a buffer layer 78 is optional but can be included if it promotes good magnetics in the high-moment material and if it can serve as a sacrificial layer that helps to eliminate “feet” in the high-moment layer during the RIBE process.
  • a high moment magnetic layer 80 is positioned on the buffer layer.
  • Cap layer 82 is positioned on the high moment magnetic layer.
  • a hard mask layer 84 of Ta, or W is positioned on the cap layer.
  • a reactive ion etch mask 86 is positioned on hard layer.
  • a resist 88 is positioned on reactive ion etch mask
  • the high-moment layer in this example will be exchange-coupled to the rest of the yoke.
  • the high-moment layer will form the top pole of a perpendicular writer.
  • the cap layer is a non-magnetic material that protects the trailing edge of the write pole. This layer is both resistant to F-based RIE and readily etches with C-based RIBE, an example of such material is non-magnetic NiFeCr.
  • the top Ta or W layer will act as a hard mask for the high-moment layer. Finally, the RIE mask is used to define the top pole structure into the Ta or W during the first RIE step.
  • FIG. 7 shows the definition of the device pattern into a Ta or W hard mask by F-based RIE.
  • the top pole structure is transferred from the resist to the RIE mask by a standard Ar IBE step.
  • the RIE mask can also be defined in a lift-off process where some material that is resistant to F-based RIE, such as NiFe or Al, is deposited through resist with a directional technique, like evaporation or ion beam deposition.
  • the pattern can be transferred to the Ta or W layer by F-based RIE. This will then serve as the top pole mask during the C-based RIBE of the high-moment layer.
  • FIG. 1 shows the definition of the device pattern into a Ta or W hard mask by F-based RIE.
  • FIG. 8 shows that a Ta or W hard mask is then used to define the device structure during the C-based RIBE of the high-moment top pole, which is FeCoB for this example.
  • FIG. 9 shows the final step of using a second F-based RIE to remove the Ta or W etch stop layer.
  • the last step, illustrated in FIG. 9, is a clean-up process that removes the Ta or W etch stop layer from the field.
  • FIGS. 10 - 13 show an ABS view for a proposed process for track width definition of a CPP reader.
  • FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the thin film multilayer with lithographically defined resist.
  • a thin film multilayer structure 100 is deposited onto a planarized surface 102 of a Cu lead or NiFe shield 104 .
  • the roles of each layer in the structure 100 are as follows.
  • a bottom layer 106 of Ta or W will serve as an etch stop.
  • a buffer layer 108 is optional but can be included if it promotes good magnetics in the GMR stack and if it can serve as a sacrificial layer that helps to eliminate “feet” in the GMR stack during the RIBE process.
  • a GMR stack 110 is positioned on the buffer layer.
  • Cap layer 112 is positioned on the GMR stack.
  • a resist 114 is positioned on cap layer.
  • C-based RIBE then defines the track width of the CPP sensor by removing portions of the cap layer, GMR stack and bottom layer is not protected by the resist, as shown in FIG. 11.
  • An insulator 116 is then deposited on the structure using a directional deposition process as shown in FIG. 12. The insulator and resist are then lifted off to leave the structure shown in FIG. 13.
  • the C-based RIBE process will help to relax the constraints on the dry etch process.
  • the enhanced selectivity can allow thicker layers to be etched for the same thickness of resist or hard mask. Conversely, the same thickness can be etched with a thinner mask.
  • C-based RIBE when incorporated into the writer process described above, can substantially improve upon our current sputtered top pole etch process.
  • another key benefit of using Ta and W as masks is the fact that both materials can be readily etched with F-based RIE.
  • This invention provides a new C-based RIBE process for selective etching of Ni, Fe, and Co alloys used in recording heads. This process is a substantial improvement over standard Ar IBE and is a potentially better alternative than Cl-based RIE for dry etching magnetic materials. While we present data for just two sets of ion beam parameters, the principle behind this disclosure can be extended to any set of beam parameters, if necessary.
  • the accumulation of the carbon-rich material during the carbon-based etch can be prevented by including elements or compounds in the gas mixture that readily react with carbon to form fast-etching compounds that may or may not be volatile.
  • One way to accomplish this is to incorporate oxygen into the gas mixture used during carbon-based RIBE. The oxygen in the ion beam will then form carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide from the residual carbon that accumulates on the sidewalls.
  • molecular oxygen can be mixed with carbon-containing gases that do not contain oxygen, such as acetylene and methane.
  • Another approach is to use a gas that has both carbon and oxygen. Since carbon monoxide is flammable and toxic, we chose carbon dioxide.
  • FIG. 14 shows measured field etch rates for various materials used in recording head fabrication as a function of the relative flow rate of CO 2 .
  • the combined flow rates of Ar and CO 2 vary from 10 to 16 SCCM.
  • the measured values are the absolute etch rates.
  • FIG. 15 shows the etch selectivity of NiFe and FeCo with respect to various materials. The selectivity is computed from the data in FIG. 14. Pure CO 2 RIBE yields a selectivity of NiFe and FeCo that is approximately 6 to 7 times higher than that for pure Ar IBE. This carbon-based etch process leads to structures with clean sidewalls that are free of the carbon-rich build-up.
  • FIGS. 14 and 15 show the measured field etch rates as a function of the relative amount of CO 2 mixed with Ar.
  • the absolute etch rates of most materials exhibit an overall gradual decline with increasing concentration of CO 2 , but the etch selectivity of NiFe and FeCo with respect to Ta exhibits a remarkable enhancement. This behavior is similar to that observed with C 2 H 2 RIBE.
  • Pure CO 2 RIBE produces an etch selectivity of the benchmark materials NiFe and FeCo that is six to seven times larger than that for pure Ar IBE. This is a significant enhancement and comes with only a small compromise in absolute etch rate, which is about 2.3 times smaller than that for pure Ar IBE.
  • CO 2 RIBE is able to match the etch selectivity produced by C 2 H 2 RIBE. Furthermore, CO 2 RIBE is able to do so while at the same time offering several improvements and advantages.
  • CO 2 and C 2 H 2 are both non-toxic. However, CO 2 is even safer because it is non-flammable, which means that no gas cabinet is required. Pure CO 2 can be run through the ion beam source. This is in contrast to the behavior observed with C 2 H 2 RIBE, in which a finite amount of Ar is required in order for the ion beam source to generate the required currents.
  • CO 2 leads to less carbon build-up in the vacuum chamber and in the turbo pump. Thus, running CO 2 will lead to fewer maintenance issues than when using C 2 H 2 . CO 2 can be used beyond just a clean-up step because it leads to clean sidewalls.
  • the etch selectivity is a function of the ion energy, where the selectivity increases with decreasing beam voltage. This can be exploited to minimize the amount of over-etching into underlying material by employing a multi-step CO 2 RIBE process. In such a process, higher beam energies are used to clear material from the field for the first step. Then, a second step that employs lower beam energies can be used for the over-etching necessary to clean up corners and straighten sidewalls. CO 2 RIBE in combination with a Ta etch stop layer can also be used as a clean-up or via opening step in a manner similar to that described above for C 2 H 2 RIBE.
US10/217,236 2001-08-21 2002-08-12 Enhanced ion beam etch selectivity of magnetic thin films using carbon-based gases Abandoned US20030038106A1 (en)

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US20060168794A1 (en) * 2005-01-28 2006-08-03 Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Method to control mask profile for read sensor definition
JP2006278456A (ja) * 2005-03-28 2006-10-12 Ulvac Japan Ltd トンネル接合素子のエッチング加工方法
US20070000861A1 (en) * 2005-06-28 2007-01-04 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Method and apparatus for manufacturing magnetic recording media
US20070187362A1 (en) * 2006-02-13 2007-08-16 Hideo Nakagawa Dry etching method, fine structure formation method, mold and mold fabrication method
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US20090081482A1 (en) * 2007-09-26 2009-03-26 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Magnetic recording medium and method of manufacturing the same
USRE40951E1 (en) * 2003-07-24 2009-11-10 Canon Anelva Corporation Dry etching method for magnetic material
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US20110146060A1 (en) * 2006-02-02 2011-06-23 Headway Technologies, Inc. Method to make a perpendicular magnetic recording head with a side write shield
US20140251790A1 (en) * 2011-10-31 2014-09-11 Canon Anelva Corporation Ion beam etching method of magnetic film and ion beam etching apparatus
US20150079699A1 (en) * 2012-04-26 2015-03-19 Everspin Technologies, Inc. Method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive device

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