Hall effect in permalloy based thin films and magnetic multilayers

The correlation between the Hall effect and sample magnetization enables the use of this technique for the study of magnetic properties in Permalloy (Py) thin films and Py/NM/Py multilayers. NM denotes Cu and Al2O3 layers. The measured voltages present hysteresis loops at low magnetic field and are very sensitive to the experimental setup. The saturation fields obtained when the magnetic field is applied normal to the film plane are less than the values predicted from the shape anisotropy known for flat surfaces, but are consistent with the film surface topography.