Local density of states as a probe for tunneling magnetoresistance effect: application to ferrimagnetic tunnel junctions

Abstract

We investigate the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect using the lattice models which describe the magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ). First, taking a conventional ferromagnetic MTJ as an example, we show that the product of the local density of states (LDOS) at the center of the barrier traces the TMR effect qualitatively. The LDOS inside the barrier has the information on the electrodes and the electron tunneling through the barrier, which enables us to easily evaluate the tunneling conductance more precisely than the conventional Julliere's picture. We then apply this method to the MTJs with collinear ferrimagnets and antiferromagnets. We find that the TMR effect in the ferrimagnetic and antiferromagnetic MTJs changes depending on the interfacial magnetic structures originating from the sublattice structure, which can also be captured by the LDOS. Our findings will reduce the computational cost for the qualitative evaluation of the TMR effect, and be useful for a broader search for the materials which work as the TMR devices showing high performance.