No Arabic abstract
Based on general symmetry considerations we investigate how the dependence of the tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) on the magnetization direction is determined by the specific form of the spin-orbit coupling field. By extending a phenomenological model, previously proposed for explaining the main trends of the TAMR in (001) ferromagnet/semiconductor/normal-metal magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) [J. Moser {it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 056601 (2007)], we provide a unified qualitative description of the TAMR in MTJs with different growth directions. In particular, we predict the forms of the angular dependence of the TAMR in (001),(110), and (111) MTJs with structure inversion asymmetry and/or bulk inversion asymmetry. The effects of in-plane uniaxial strain on the TAMR are also investigated.
The effects of the spin-orbit interaction on the tunneling magnetoresistance of ferromagnet/semiconductor/normal metal tunnel junctions are investigated. Analytical expressions for the tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) are derived within an approximation in which the dependence of the magnetoresistance on the magnetization orientation in the ferromagnet originates from the interference between Bychkov-Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings that appear at junction interfaces and in the tunneling region. We also investigate the transport properties of ferromagnet/semiconductor/ferromagnet tunnel junctions and show that in such structures the spin-orbit interaction leads not only to the TAMR effect but also to the anisotropy of the conventional tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR). The resulting anisotropic tunneling magnetoresistance (ATMR) depends on the absolute magnetization directions in the ferromagnets. Within the proposed model, depending on the magnetization directions in the ferromagnets, the interplay of Bychkov-Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings produces differences between the rates of transmitted and reflected spins at the ferromagnet/seminconductor interfaces, which results in an anisotropic local density of states at the Fermi surface and in the TAMR and ATMR effects. Model calculations for Fe/GaAs/Fe tunnel junctions are presented. Furthermore, based on rather general symmetry considerations, we deduce the form of the magnetoresistance dependence on the absolute orientations of the magnetizations in the ferromagnets.
Using a simple quantum-mechanical model, we explore a tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) effect in ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) with a ferromagnetic electrode and a ferroelectric barrier layer, which spontaneous polarization gives rise to the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling (SOC). For realistic parameters of the model, we predict sizable TAMR measurable experimentally. For asymmetric FTJs, which electrodes have different work functions, the built-in electric field affects the SOC parameters and leads to TAMR dependent on ferroelectric polarization direction. The SOC change with polarization switching affects tunneling conductance, revealing a new mechanism of tunneling electroresistance (TER). These results demonstrate new functionalities of FTJs which can be explored experimentally and used in electronic devices.
We theoretically investigate quantum transport through single-molecule magnet (SMM) junctions with ferromagnetic and normal-metal leads in the sequential regime. The current obtained by means of the rate-equation gives rise to the tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR), which varies with the angle between the magnetization direction of ferromagnetic lead and the easy axis of SMM. The angular dependence of TAMR can serve as a probe to determine experimentally the easy axis of SMM. Moreover, it is demonstrated that both the magnitude and sign of TAMR are tunable by the bias voltage, suggesting a promising TAMR based spintronic molecule-device.
Quantum-well (QW) devices have been extensively investigated in semiconductor structures. More recently, spin-polarized QWs were integrated into magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). In this work, we demonstrate the spin-based control of the quantized states in iron $3d$-band QWs, as observed in experiments and theoretical calculations. We find that the magnetization rotation in the Fe QWs significantly shifts the QW quantization levels, which modulate the resonant-tunneling current in MTJs, resulting in a tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) effect of QWs. This QW-TAMR effect is sizable compared to other types of TAMR effect, and it is present above the room-temperature. In a QW MTJ of Cr/Fe/MgAl$_2$O$_4$/top electrode, where the QW is formed by a mismatch between Cr and Fe in the $d$ band with $Delta_1$ symmetry, a QW-TAMR ratio of up to 5.4 % was observed at 5 K, which persisted to 1.2 % even at 380K. The magnetic control of QW transport can open new applications for spin-coupled optoelectronic devices, ultra-thin sensors, and memories.
We find an unusual angular dependence of the tunneling magneto-Seebeck effect (TMS). The conductance shows normally a cosine-dependence with the angle between the magnetizations of the two ferromagnetic leads. In contrast, the angular dependence of the TMS depends strongly on the tunneling magneto resistance (TMR) ratio. For small TMR ratios we obtain also a cosine-dependence whereas for very large TMR ratios the angular dependence approaches a step-like function.