Linear response conductance and magneto-resistance of ferromagnetic single-electron transistors

Abstract

The current through ferromagnetic single-electron transistors (SET's) is considered. Using path integrals the linear response conductance is formulated as a function of the tunnel conductance vs. quantum conductance and the temperature vs. Coulomb charging energy. The magneto-resistance of ferromagnet-normal metal-ferromagnet (F-N-F) SET's is almost independent of the Coulomb charging energy and is only reduced when the transport dwell time is longer than the spin-flip relaxation time. In all-ferromagnetic (F-F-F) SET's with negligible spin-flip relaxation time the magneto-resistance is calculated analytically at high temperatures and numerically at low temperatures. The F-F-F magneto-resistance is enhanced by higher order tunneling processes at low temperatures in the 'off' state when the induced charges vanishes. In contrast, in the 'on' state near resonance the magneto-resistance ratio is a non-monotonic function of the inverse temperature.