Crucial role of interfacial $s$-$d$ exchange interaction in the temperature dependence of tunnel magnetoresistance

Abstract

The tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) is one of the most important spintronic phenomena but its reduction at finite temperature is a severe drawback for applications. Here, we reveal a crucial determinant of the drawback, that is, the $s$-$d$ exchange interaction between conduction $s$ and localized $d$ electrons at interfacial ferromagnetic layers. By calculating the temperature dependence of the TMR ratio in Fe/MgO/Fe(001), we show that the obtained TMR ratio significantly decreases with increasing temperature owing to the spin-flip scattering in the $\Delta_1$ state induced by the $s$-$d$ exchange interaction. The material dependence of the coupling constant $J_{sd}$ is also discussed on the basis of a nonempirical method.