Anisotropic magnetoresistance in single electron transport

Abstract

We study the effect of magnetic anisotropy in a single electron transistor with ferromagnetic electrodes and a non-magnetic island. We identify the variation $\delta \mu$ of the chemical potential of the electrodes as a function of the magnetization orientation as a key quantity that permits to tune the electrical properties of the device. Different effects occur depending on the relative size of $\delta \mu$ and the charging energy. We provide preliminary quantitative estimates of $\delta \mu$ using a very simple toy model for the electrodes.