Magnetic and Transport Properties of NiFe/SiO_{2}/NiFe Trilayers

Magnetic coupling between Ni_{81}Fe_{19} double thin films separated by an insulating SiO_{2} spacer layer is investigated with structural measurements, cross sectional imaging, magnetization measurements (BH loop) and transport under the conditions of variable spacer thickness ranging from 0 to 5000 Angstroms. We investigate several models to explain the coercivity variation with spacer thickness as well as the transport measurements.