Bias dependence of tunnel magnetoresistance in spin filtering tunnel junctions: Experiment and theory

Abstract

A spin filter is a type of magnetic tunnel junction in which only one of the electrodes is magnetic and the insulating barrier is ferro- or ferrimagnetic. We report on spin-dependent transport measurements and their theoretical analysis in epitaxial spin filters integrating a tunnel barrier of the high-Curie-temperature ferrimagnetic spinel $\mathrm{Ni}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$, with half-metallic ${\mathrm{La}}_{2∕3}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{1∕3}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ and Au electrodes. A positive tunnel magnetoresonance of up to $\ensuremath{\sim}50%$ is obtained at low temperature, which we find decreases with bias voltage. In view of these experimental results, we propose a theoretical treatment of the transport properties of spin filters with epitaxial magnetic barriers, based on an elliptical variation of the decay rates within the spin-dependent gaps in analogy with what was calculated for nonmagnetic barrier materials such as MgO or $\mathrm{Sr}\mathrm{Ti}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$. Whereas the spin filtering efficiency for zero bias is of one sign, we show that this can easily change with bias; the degree of change hinges on the energy variation of the majority and minority spin decay rates of the transmission across the barrier. We point out some shortcomings of approaches based on models in which the transmission is related to spin-dependent barrier heights, and some implications for future experimental and theoretical research on spin filters.