ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews experimental data on giant magnetoresistance (GMR) in magnetic multilayers composed of ferromagnetic (F) and nonmagnetic (N) metals. It explains how values of lsfN in “pure” N-metals and alloys, and of lsfF in “pure” F-metals and alloys, are found from Current-perpendicular (CPP) - magnetoresistance ratio (MR) measurements. The chapter deals with a brief overview of the MR for a single magnetic film—called anisotropic magnetoresistance. It analyses the traditional current-in-plane (CIP) MR and the CPP-to-plane MR in multilayers. GMR is the change in the electrical resistance, right, of a magnetic multilayer composed of alternating F and N-layers, upon application of H, usually in the layer plane. In the CIP geometry on thin films, earlier analyses of electron scattering at the metal/air surfaces had assumed a single parameter that characterized the probability of diffuse reflection at the interface.
