Large rectification magnetoresistance in nonmagnetic Al/Ge/Al heterojunctions

TL;DR

This paper reports a novel large rectification magnetoresistance effect in nonmagnetic Al/Ge heterojunctions, where a small AC induces a DC voltage that varies significantly with magnetic field, promising new spintronics applications.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of rectification magnetoresistance in nonmagnetic heterojunctions and demonstrates a large effect at room temperature, advancing spintronics device design.

Findings

Rectification magnetoresistance as large as 250% at room temperature.

Significant enhancement over conventional magnetoresistance of 70%.

Potential for nonmagnetic Ge-based spintronics devices.

Abstract

Magnetoresistance and rectification are two fundamental physical properties of heterojunctions and respectively have wide applications in spintronics devices. Being different from the well known various magnetoresistance effects, here we report a brand new large magnetoresistance that can be regarded as rectification magnetoresistance: the application of a pure small sinusoidal alternating-current to the nonmagnetic Al/Ge Schottky heterojunctions can generate a significant direct-current voltage, and this rectification voltage strongly varies with the external magnetic field. We find that the rectification magnetoresistance in Al/Ge Schottky heterojunctions is as large as 250% at room temperature, which is greatly enhanced as compared with the conventional magnetoresistance of 70%. The findings of rectification magnetoresistance open the way to the new nonmagnetic Ge-based spintronics devices of large rectification magnetoresistance at ambient temperature under the alternating-current due to the simultaneous implementation of the rectification and magnetoresistance in the same devices.