Spin-mixing conductances : The influence of disorder

• Spin transfer torque exerted on a magnetic layer can be viewed as a linear response to the spin accumulation inside an adjacent non-magnetic layer, information about their response coefficient is provided by the complex spin-mixing conductance C-mix. Substitutional disorder is known to affect the spin-dependent charge conductances and often reduces strongly the magnetoresistance. Here, we examine its impact on C-mix of several selected realistic systems. Recently predicted oscillations of C-mix as a function of ferromagnetic layer thickness in Ni based junctions might be suppressed by interface interdiffusion, but presented ab initio calculations disprove this possibility. Halfmetallic character of the Heusler compound Co(2)Mnsi is destroyed by often encountered antisite disorder; however the impact of this disorder to the predicted C-mix is rather weak. Diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As is an intrinsically disordered system the analysis of calculations shows that the variation of C-mix with substitutional Mn content can be understood in terms of the associated change of the number of carriers, whereas the variation with lattice defects is more complex.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Physics

Fysik

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)