Anisotropic magnetoresistance: materials, models and applications

TL;DR

This paper reviews the phenomenon of anisotropic magnetoresistance in ferromagnets and antiferromagnets, discussing materials, models, and potential industrial applications such as sensors and data storage devices.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of anisotropic magnetoresistance, including recent extensions to antiferromagnets and potential new applications.

Findings

Anisotropic magnetoresistance observed in ferromagnets and antiferromagnets.

Extension of the effect to antiferromagnetic materials.

Potential applications in sensors and data storage.

Abstract

Resistance of certain (conductive and otherwise isotropic) ferromagnets turns out to exhibit anisotropy with respect to the direction of magnetisation: R$_\parallel$ different from R$_\perp$ with reference to the electric current direction. This century-old phenomenon is reviewed both from the perspective of materials and physical mechanisms involved. More recently, this effect has also been extended to antiferromagnets. This opens the possibility for industrial applications reaching far beyond the current ones, e.g. hard drive read heads or position sensors.