Crystal orientation dependence of current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance of pseudo spin-valves with epitaxial Co{sub 2}Fe(Ge{sub 0.5}Ga{sub 0.5}) Heusler alloy layers

Journal Article · Sat Jun 21 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4882736· OSTI ID:22304013

Chen, Jiamin; Hono, K. ^[1]; Li, Songtian; Takahashi, Y. K. ^[2]

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1. Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba 305-0047 (Japan)
2. National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba 305-0047 (Japan)

The magnetoresistive (MR) properties of Co{sub 2}Fe(Ge{sub 0.5}Ga{sub 0.5}) (CFGG) Heusler alloy-based current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance pseudo-spin-valves (PSVs) are investigated. The PSV films are epitaxially grown on a sapphire (112{sup ¯}0) substrate with an Ag or Cu spacer layer, and their magnetoresistive properties are compared with those of PSV grown on MgO(001) substrates. For substrates with an Ag spacer, the PSV with the (001)[110]{sub CFGG}//(001)[010]{sub Ag} interface grown on MgO(001) exhibits a higher MR output compared with the (110)[001]{sub CFGG}//(111)[11{sup ¯}0]{sub Ag} interface grown on sapphire (112{sup ¯}0). In contrast, a higher MR output is obtained using a Cu spacer with the (110)[001]{sub CFGG}//(111)[11{sup ¯}0]{sub Cu} interface. These results demonstrate that the MR outputs depend upon the crystal orientation at the interface, and that interfaces with a small misfit tend to exhibit a larger MR output. This indicates the influence of crystal orientation as well as lattice mismatch upon the interfacial spin scattering asymmetry.

• OSTI ID: 22304013
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 115, Issue 23; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ASYMMETRY
COBALT COMPOUNDS
CRYSTAL DEFECTS
CRYSTALS
CURRENTS
EPITAXY
FILMS
GALLIUM COMPOUNDS
GERMANIUM COMPOUNDS
HEUSLER ALLOYS
INTERFACES
IRON COMPOUNDS
LAYERS
MAGNESIUM OXIDES
MAGNETORESISTANCE
ORIENTATION
SAPPHIRE
SCATTERING
SPIN
SUBSTRATES