We calculate the conductances and the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) of double magnetic tunnel junctions, taking as a model example junctions composed of Fe/ZnSe/Fe/ZnSe/Fe (001). The calculations are done as a function of the gate voltage applied to the in-between Fe layer slab. We find that the application of a gate voltage to the in-between Fe slab strongly affects the junctions' TMR due to the tuning or untuning of conductance resonances mediated by quantum well states. The gate voltage allows a significant enhancement of the TMR, in a more controllable way than by changing the thickness of the in-between Fe slab. This effect may be useful in the design of future spintronic devices based on the TMR effect, requiring large and controllable TMR values.
@article{arxiv.0809.0626,
title = {Gate control of the tunneling magnetoresistance in double-barrier junctions},
author = {J. Peralta-Ramos and A. M. Llois},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0809.0626},
year = {2008}
}
Comments
Paper was written Feb. 2008. v2: minor corrections (misspelled author's name,introduction); v3: two references added