Method for manufacturing a thin-film EAS marker

摘要

A method for manufacturing a nonlinear, dual-axis thin-film magnetic device which can be used as an electronic article surveillance system marker. The method includes providing a substrate having a surface characterized by first and second generally perpendicular axes. A magnetic field oriented parallel to the first axis is applied on the surface of the substrate. A first stack of relatively thin thin-film magnetic layers separated by nonmagnetic thin-film layers is grown on the substrate. The relatively thin thin-tim layers are grown in the presence of the magnetic field to a thickness sufficiently thick that the layers exhibit magnetic properties that are substantially independent of surface effects, but sufficiently thin that the easy axis of magnetization is oriented parallel to the second axis. A second stack of relatively thick thin-film magnetic layers separated by nonmagnetic thin-film layers is grown on the first stack. The relatively thick thin-film layers are grown in the presence of the magnetic field to a thickness sufficiently thick that the easy axis of magnetization is oriented parallel to the first axis.