https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510050847
Interfacial roughness and angle dependence of giant magnetoresistance in magnetic superlattices
1
Department of Physics and Texas
Center for Superconductivity,
University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA
2
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and
Department of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, and Department
of Physics and the Center for Nonlinear Studies, Hong Kong Baptist
University, Hong Kong, China
Corresponding author: a shl@mira.tcs.uh.edu
Received:
21
September
1998
Revised:
22
December
1998
Published online: 15 July 1999
Using the two-point conductivity formula,
we numerically evaluate the giant magnetoresistance (GMR)
in magnetic superlattices with currents in the plane
of the layers (CIP), from which the effect of the
interfacial roughness and magnetization configuration
on the GMR is studied. With increasing interfacial roughness, the
maximal GMR ratio is found to
first increase and then decrease, exhibiting a
peak at an optimum strength of interfacial roughness.
For systems composed of relatively thick layers, the
GMR is approximately proportional to 
,
where 
is the angle between the magnetizations
in two successive ferromagnetic layers,
but noticeable departures from this dependence
are found when the layers become sufficiently thin.
PACS: 75.70.Pa – Giant magnetoresistance / 75.70.-i – Magnetic films and multilayers / 72.10.Bg – General formulation of transport theory / 72.15.Gd – Galvanomagnetic and other magnetotransport effects
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 1999
