Giant magnetoresistance in the junction of two ferromagnets on the surface of diffusive topological insulators

Abstract

We reveal the giant magnetoresistance induced by the spin-polarized current in the ferromagnet (F_1)/topological insulator (TI)/ferromagnet (F_2) junction, where two ferromagnets are deposited on the diffusive surface of the TI. We can increase and reduce the value of the giant magnetoresistance by tuning the spin-polarized current, which is controlled by the magnetization configurations. The property is intuitively understood by the non-equilibrium spin-polarized current, which plays the role of an effective electrochemical potential on the surface of the TI.