Half-metallic ferromagnets for magnetic tunnel junctions byab initiocalculations
- 29 November 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review B
- Vol. 72 (17), 174428
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.72.174428
Abstract
Using theoretical arguments, we show that, in order to exploit half-metallic ferromagnets in tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) junctions, it is crucial to eliminate interface states at the Fermi level within the half-metallic gap; contrary to this, no such problem arises in giant magnetoresistance elements. Moreover, based on an a priori understanding of the electronic structure, we propose an antiferromagnetically coupled TMR element based on half-metallic zinc-blende chalcogenides, in which interface states are eliminated, as a paradigm of materials design from first principles. Our conclusions are supported by ab initio calculations.Keywords
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