ABSTRACTConsistency of spin-valve stack deposition, both wafer-to-wafer and within a wafer, is key to the manufacturability of GMR heads. For typical GMR heads, film thicknesses are now in the range of 5Å-150Å and process control is becoming a challenge.This paper discusses the importance of characterizing the thickness and uniformity of each material in the spin-valve stack within the context of single layer sheet films. For this study, single layer sheet films and full multilayer spin-valve stacks were deposited in a multi-target cluster tool. The sheet resistance and thickness of the single layer sheet films were measured using a 4-point probe and ellipsometry, respectively. Results were then correlated to the sheet resistance and magnetic performance (i.e., GMR ratio, exchange field, and magneto-static coupling field) of the full spin-valve stacks with a synthetic antiferromagnet as the pinned layer. The 1σ < 2% uniformity, wafer-to-wafer and within wafer, realized for the full stacks is a strong indicator of a manufacturable process.Model calculations of the sheet resistance and GMR were carried out to provide theoretical understanding of the film thickness dependence. The calculated results are well correlated with the experimental measurements. The model is based on band structures and implicitly includes the momentum-dependent reflection and transmission coefficients at the interfaces.Results from both experiments and calculations show that process control and repeatability (both within a wafer and from wafer to wafer) are crucial to the spin-valve manufacturability, offering a critical challenge to the disc drive industry as it heads into the next generation of GMR heads.