Abstract
Comprehensive results are presented on the influence of interfaces on electronic structure and giant magnetoresistance (GMR). Two structures were calculated for Co5/Cu3/Co5 and Co3/Cu/Co/Cu3/Co/Cu/Co3, where numbers stand for monolayer numbers of atoms, by employing the discrete variational method in the framework of the local spin density approximation. It has been found that the electron spin-dependent scattering is very strong at the interfaces compared to the interiors of the ferromagnetic layers, independent of the moment alignment configuration. The calculation results of total energy for various magnetization configuration revealed that antiferromagnetic exchange coupling was present between any of the ferromagnetic layers separated by Cu layers at zero field in the Co3/Cu/Co/Cu3/Co/Cu/Co3. The evaluated GMR ratio for the Co3/Cu/Co/Cu3/Co/Cu/Co3 (about 35.1%) was much larger than that of the Co5/Cu3/Co5 (about 21.0%), indicating large GMR effect could be expected with more interfaces when the thicknesses were the same. The result also indicated that the negative polarization of 4s electrons could reduce the GMR effect.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
