PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

The discovery of antiferromagnetic coupling in metallic Fe/Cr multilayers by Grunberg has triggered enormous research activities in the area of magnetic thin films. Additionally, the resistance of multilayers in the antiferromagnetic state is higher than in the parallel state at magnetic saturation. This Giant Magneto Resistance is caused by spin-dependent scattering of the conduction electrons in the magnetic layers. For applications, however, moderate saturation fields, tailorable resistance characteristics and good temperature stability are required. Additional opportunities are opened by a similar effect in magnetic tunnel junctions. Here, the tunneling probability depends on the relative orientation of the magnetizations of the electrodes and thus a large dependence of the tunneling current on an external magnetic field can be found. This effect is usually called Tunneling Magneto Resistance and can again be used both for detecting external fields as well as for information storage. Much more possible applications are still ahead, especially after the finding of magnetoelectronic effects in semiconductors. In this contribution, we will sketch basic physics of these effects and give examples for current developments.