Using antiferromagnetic/ferromagnetic bilayers as detection layers in magnetic tunnel junctions

It is shown that the association of an antiferromagnetic material with a ferromagnetic material in an exchange-coupled bilayer, often used in spintronic devices as a magnetic reference or pinned system, can be used as a detection layer in magnetoresistive sensors. The magnetic response is shown to be reversible and linear in an adjustable field window. The sensitivity is studied as a function of temperature.