Finite-element method study for the spin-polarized transport in a hybrid spin valve

Abstract

The giant magnetoresistance ( GMR)has been observed to increase with the number of layers in a hybrid spin valve. This study shows the increase of the spin- dependent scattering for the current perpendicular to the plane ( CPP) geometry with the number of layers; thus, the increase of the CPP- GMR with the number of layers by a finite element method ( FEM). The CPP- GMR is evaluated by using the three spin- dependent conductance based on the Landauer - Buttiker formalism. The transmission probabilities are calculated by using a transfer- matrix method. The conduction band structure is determined by extracting the free electron model parameters from first-principles data. (c) 2006 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.