Conductance and exchange coupling of two ferromagnets separated by a tunneling barrier

Abstract

A theory is given for three closely related effects involving a nonmagnetic electron-tunneling barrier separating two ferromagnetic conductors. The first is Julliere’s magnetic valve effect, in which the tunnel conductance depends on the angle θ between the moments of the two ferromagnets. One finds that discontinuous change of the potential at the electrode-barrier interface diminishes the spin-polarization factor governing this effect and is capable of changing its sign. The second is an effective interfacial exchange coupling -J cosθ between the ferromagnets. One finds that the magnitude and sign of J depend on the height of the barrier and the Stoner splitting in the ferromagnets. The third is a new, irreversible exchange term in the coupled dynamics of the ferromagnets. For one sign of external voltage V, this term describes relaxation of the Landau-Lifshitz type. For the opposite sign of V, it describes a pumping action which can cause spontaneous growth of magnetic oscillations. All of these effects were investigated consistently by analyzing the transmission of charge and spin currents flowing through a rectangular barrier separating free-electron metals. In application to Fe-C-Fe junctions, the theory predicts that the valve effect is weak and that the coupling is antiferromagnetic (J). Relations connecting the three effects suggest experiments involving small spatial dimensions.