AVS 45th International Symposium
    Magnetic Interfaces and Nanostructures Technical Group Wednesday Sessions
       Session MI+EM-WeM

Paper MI+EM-WeM9
Direct-Measurement of Spin-Dependent Transport Across Ferromagnetic and Non-Magnetic Thin Films

Wednesday, November 4, 1998, 11:00 am, Room 324/325

Session: Spin-dependent Devices: Technology and Processing
Presenter: S.K. Upadhyay, Cornell University
Authors: S.K. Upadhyay, Cornell University
R.N. Louie, Cornell University
R.A. Buhrman, Cornell University
Correspondent: Click to Email
We have used superconductor-ferromagnet nanocontacts to directly measure a>spin-polarization of the current in ferromagnets (Co and Ni) and b>spin dependent transmission rates of thin ferromagnetic (Co, Ni) and non-magnetic (Cu) films. Since the size of the contact (3-10nm) is smaller than other scattering lengths in the system, our measurements can selectively probe the scattering at interfaces of dissimilar metals. We will discuss our results in the context of giant magnetoresistance in thin film magnetic multilayers and their significance in understanding the role of interfacial versus bulk scattering.