Electrical resistance of spatially varying magnetic interfaces. The role of normal scattering

• Published in: Low temperature physics (Woodbury, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2011-02, Vol.37 (2), p.149-156
• Main Authors: Gurzhi, R. N., Kalinenko, A. N., Kopeliovich, A. I., Pyshkin, P. V., Yanovsky, A. V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1063-777X; 1090-6517
• DOI: 10.1063/1.3556662

We investigate diffusive electron transport in conductors with spatially inhomogeneous magnetic properties taking both impurity and normal scattering into account. It is found that the additional interface resistance that arises due to a magnetic inhomogeneity depends fundamentally on its spatial characteristics. The resistance is proportional to the spin-flip time when the magnetic properties of the conducting system vary sufficiently smoothly along the sample. This can be used for direct experimental study of spin-flip processes. In the opposite case, when the magnetic characteristics vary sharply, the additional resistance depends basically on the difference in the magnetic properties far from the interface region on both sides of the interface. The resistance increases as the frequency of electron-electron scattering increases. We consider two types of smooth interfaces: (i) between fully spin-polarized magnets and ordinary magnetic (or non-magnetic) conductors, and (ii) between two fully and oppositely polarized magnetic conductors. It is shown that the interface resistance is very sensitive to an external magnetic field applied to a fully spin-polarized state.