ZrO$_2$ tapes as an alternative low-cost flexible substrate to artificially nanostructured materials

Abstract

We associate tape casting and magnetron sputtering techniques to engineer flexible nanostructures using ZrO$_2$ green tape as substrate. We systematically investigate the structural, magnetic and electrical properties of NiFe/Cr/NiFe trilayer nanostructures, with variable thickness values of the NiFe and Cr layers, grown onto rigid glass and flexible ZrO$_2$ tape substrates. We verify the mirroring of these properties in the trilayer nanostructures, irrespective on the kind of employed substrate. The fact that the trilayer nanostructures can be reproduced in distinct substrates corresponds to an important advance for their applicability. The results place the ZnO$_2$ green tape as an attractive candidate for application as low-cost flexible substrate in the development of electrical and magnetic sensor elements with high sensitivity to mechanic stress.