First principles calculation of electrical conductivity and giant magnetroresistance of Co{vert_bar}Cu multilayers

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:212413

Butler, W H; Zhang, X G; Nicholson, D M.C. ^[1]; MacLaren, J M ^[2]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
2. Tulane Univ., New Orleans, LA (United States). Dept. of Physics

We show that the Kubo formula can be used to calculate the nonlocal electrical conductivity of layered systems from first principles. We use the Layer Korringa Kohn Rostoker method to calculate the electronic structure and Green function of Co/Cu/Co trilayers within the local density approximation to density functional theory. This Green function is used to calculate the conductivity through the Kubo formula for both majority and minority spins and for alignment and anti-alignment of the Co moments on either side of the Cu spacer layer. This allows us to determine the giant magnetoresistance from first principles. We investigate three possibilities for the scattering in Co/Cu/Co: (1) equal electron lifetimes for Cu, majority spin Co, and minority spin Co, (2) equal electron lifetimes for majority and minority Co, weaker scattering in Cu and spin dependent interfacial scattering, (3) electron lifetimes for majority and minority spin cobalt proportional to their Fermi energy densities of states and spin dependent interfacial scattering.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 212413
• Report Number(s): CONF-950412--62; ON: DE96005364
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
COBALT
COPPER
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
INTERFACES
LAYERS
MAGNETORESISTANCE