Tunneling magnetoresistance in ensembles of ferromagnetic granules with exchange interaction and random easy axes of magnetic anisotropy

TL;DR

This paper investigates tunneling magnetoresistance in ferromagnetic granule ensembles with random anisotropy axes, revealing how exchange interactions influence magnetoresistance behavior and aligning theory with experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical model accounting for exchange interactions and random anisotropy axes, explaining magnetoresistance phenomena observed in ferromagnetic granule ensembles.

Findings

Exchange interaction decouples magnetoresistance from magnetization.

Negative magnetoresistance peaks at near saturation fields.

Magnetoresistance sign can reverse under certain conditions.

Abstract

We study the tunneling magnetoresistance in the ensembles of ferromagnetic granules with random easy axes of magnetic anisotropy taking into account the exchange interaction between granules. It is shown that due to the exchange interaction magnetoresistance is effectively decoupled from magnetization, i.e. the strongest negative magnetoresistance can be observed at the field where magnetization is almost saturated. Under some conditions, the sign of magnetoresistance can be reversed and tunneling magnetoresistance can become positive at certain magnetic fields. Our theory agrees with measurements of magnetoresistance in ensembles of Fe granules in SiCxNy matrix.