13 research outputs found
Current induced switching of magnetic domains to a perpendicular configuration
In a ferromagnet--normal-metal--ferromagnet trilayer, a current flowing
perpendicularly to the layers creates a torque on the magnetic moments of the
ferromagnets. When one of the contacts is superconducting, the torque not only
favors parallel or antiparallel alignment of the magnetic moments, as is the
case for two normal contacts, but can also favor a configuration where the two
moments are perpendicular. In addition, whereas the conductance for parallel
and antiparallel magnetic moments is the same, signalling the absence of giant
magnetoresistance in the usual sense, the conductance is greater in the
perpendicular configuration. Thus, a negative magnetoconductance is predicted,
in contrast with the usual giant magnetoresistance.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, major rewriting of the technical par
Current-Driven Magnetization Dynamics in Magnetic Multilayers
We develop a quantum analog of the classical spin-torque model for
current-driven magnetic dynamics. The current-driven magnetic excitation at
finite field becomes significantly incoherent. This excitation is described by
an effective magnetic temperature rather than a coherent precession as in the
spin-torque model. However, both the spin-torque and effective temperature
approximations give qualitatively similar switching diagrams in the
current-field coordinates, showing the need for detailed experiments to
establish the proper physical model for current-driven dynamics.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Giant magnetothermopower of magnon-assisted transport in ferromagnetic tunnel junctions
We present a theoretical description of the thermopower due to
magnon-assisted tunneling in a mesoscopic tunnel junction between two
ferromagnetic metals. The thermopower is generated in the course of thermal
equilibration between two baths of magnons, mediated by electrons. For a
junction between two ferromagnets with antiparallel polarizations, the ability
of magnon-assisted tunneling to create thermopower depends on the
difference between the size of the majority and
minority band Fermi surfaces and it is proportional to a temperature dependent
factor where is the magnon Debye
energy. The latter factor reflects the fractional change in the net
magnetization of the reservoirs due to thermal magnons at temperature
(Bloch's law). In contrast, the contribution of magnon-assisted
tunneling to the thermopower of a junction with parallel polarizations is
negligible. As the relative polarizations of ferromagnetic layers can be
manipulated by an external magnetic field, a large difference results in a magnetothermopower effect. This
magnetothermopower effect becomes giant in the extreme case of a junction
between two half-metallic ferromagnets, .Comment: 9 pages, 4 eps figure
Enhancement of giant magnetoresistance due to spin mixing in magnetic multilayers with a superconducting contact
We study the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) ratio in magnetic multilayers wit a single superconducting contact in the presence of spin-mixing processes. It has been recently shown [F. Taddei, S. Sanvito, J.H. Jefferson, and C. J. Lambert, Phys, Rev. Lett, 82, 4938 (1999)] that the GMR ratio of magnetic multilayers is strongly suppressed by the presence of a super conducting contact when spin flipping is not allowed. In this paper we demonstrate that the GMR ratio can be dramatically enhanced by spin-orbit interaction and/or noncollinear magnetic moments. The system is described using a tight-binding model with either s-p-d or s-d atomic orbitals per site