Giant magnetoresistance and magnetothermopower in Co/Cu multilayers

Abstract

The thermopower (Seebeck coefficient, S) has been measured on a series of Co/Cu multilayers that exhibit giant negative magnetoresistance (GMR). Negative in zero applied field, S(H) increases in magnitude as the field is increased, approaching that of bulk Co. The change in S is inversely proportional to the resistance of the sample which is, in turn, proportional to the square of the magnetization. A model is presented that yields both the GMR and S(H) from the spin-split density of states of the Co without the need of a spin-dependent scattering potential at the interfaces. © 1993.