Abstract
A micromagnetic model and a single-domain model simulation programs were used to analyze the sensitivity of a $20\mu m\times 60\mu m \times 1000{\AA}$ permalloy strip as a magnetoresistance sensor with bias fields of various directions and magnitudes. The micromagnetic model agrees with the measured sensitivity data better than the single-domain model. The data show the highest peak sensitivity with the bias field at 90$^{\circ}$to the current. The peak sensitivity decreases and the peak broadens as the bias angle decreases. The simulation using the micromagnetic model shows that a bias angle smaller than 90$^{\circ}$eads to magnetization patterns which are free from closure domains or vertices over a wider range of bias fields.