2010/01/30 by S. Andersson, V. Korenivski · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.3340509
published as J. Appl. Phys. 107 , 09D711 (2010) · 4 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2010/01/30 · arxiv updated 2013/11/27
Thermal control of exchange coupling between two strongly ferromagnetic layers through a weakly ferromagnetic Ni-Cu spacer and the associated magnetoresistance is investigated. The spacer, having a Curie point slightly above room temperature, can be cycled between its paramagnetic and ferromagnetic states by varying the temperature externally or using joule heating. It is shown that the giant magnetoresistance vanishes due to a strong reduction of the mean free path in the spacer at above ~30 % Ni concentration -- before the onset of ferromagnetism. Finally, a device is proposed and demonstrated which combines thermally controlled exchange coupling and large magnetoresistance by separating the switching and the read out elements.