Does Giant Magnetoresistance Survive in Presence of Superconducting Contact?

Abstract

The giant magnetoresistance (GMR) of ferromagnetic bilayers with a superconducting contact (F1/F2/S) is calculated in ballistic and diffusive regimes. As in spin-valve, it is assumed that the magnetization in the two ferromagnetic layers F1 and F2 can be changed from parallel to antiparallel. It is shown that the GMR defined as the change of conductance between the two magnetic configurations is an oscillatory function of the thickness of F2 layer and tends to an asymptotic positive value at large thickness. This is due to the formation of quantum well states in F2 induced by Andreev reflection at the F2/S interface and reflection at F1/F2 interface in antiparallel configuration. In the diffusive regime, if only spin-dependent scattering rates in the magnetic layers are considered (no difference in Fermi wave-vectors between spin up and down electrons) then the GMR is supressed due to the mixing of spin up and down electron-hole channels by Andreev reflection.