Interfacially dominated giant magnetoresistance in Fe/Cr superlattices

Abstract

We have performed an extensive comparative study of growth, structure, magnetization, and magnetotransport in Fe/Cr superlattices. A simple analysis of the experimental data shows that the giant magnetoresistance originates from interfacial scattering in the Fe/Cr system. The saturation resistivity is determined by the roughness lateral correlation length whereas the giant magnetoresistance is determined by the interface width.