Spin polarization in magnets

Abstract

This chapter explains how the exchange splitting between up- and down-spin bands in ferromagnets unexceptionally generates spin-polarized electronic states at the Fermi energy. The quantity of spin polarization P in ferromagnets is one of the important parameters for application in spintronics, since a ferromagnet having a higher P is able to generate larger various spin-dependent effects such as the magnetoresistance effect, spin transfer torque, spin accumulation, and so on. However, the spin polarizations of general 3d transition metals or alloys generally limit the size of spin-dependent effects. Thus,“‘half-metals” attract much interest as an ideal source of spin current and spin-dependent scattering because they possess perfectly spin-polarized conduction electrons due to the energy band gap in either the up- or down-spin channel at the Fermi level.