Spin Torque and its Relation to Spin Filtering

Abstract

The spin torque exerted on a magnetic moment is a reaction to spin filtering when spin-polarized electrons interact with a thin ferromagnetic film. We show that, for certain conditions, a spin transmission resonance (STR) gives rise to a failure of spin filtering. As a consequence, no spin is transfered to the ferromagnet. The condition for STR depends on the incoming energy of electrons and the thickness of the film. For a simple model we find that when the STR condition is satisfied, the ferromagnetic film is transparent to the incoming electrons.