Giant magnetoresistance of (001)fe/(001)cr magnetic superlattices

Abstract

We have studied the magnetoresistance of (001)Fe/(001)Cr superlattices prepared by molecular-beam epitaxy. A huge magnetoresistance is found in superlattices with thin Cr layers: For example, with tCr=9 Å, at T =4.2 K, the resistivity is lowered by almost a factor of 2 in a magnetic field of 2 T. We ascribe this giant magnetoresistance to spin-dependent transmission of the conduction electrons between Fe layers through Cr layers.