Confinement effects in electrical resistivity and spin-valve magnetoresistance in metallic layered structures

✍ Scribed by J. Barnaś; V.V. Moshchalkov; Y. Bruynseraede

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 112 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0749-6036
• DOI: 10.1006/spmi.1996.0320

✦ Synopsis

Quantum size effects in electronic transport properties of metallic trilayers are analysed theoretically. It is shown that electron confinement leads to oscillations in electrical resistivity with two different periodicities. The short oscillation period is determined by the appropriate Fermi wavelength, whereas the long period depends on the potential step at interfaces. When the outer films in the trilayer are ferromagnetic, then the oscillations in the resistivity give rise to similar oscillations in the spin-valve magnetoresistance.