ABSTRACT
Tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) is a change of the electrical resistance of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) under the in¦uence of an external magnetic ¢eld. An MTJ is a tunnel junction with two magnetic metals serving as electrodes; the resistance change occurs when the orientation of the electrode magnetizations is switched between parallel and antiparallel con¢gurations (see Chapter 10). In this respect, TMR is similar to the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) e¥ect, where the magnetic electrodes are separated by a nonmagnetic metal, rather than an insulating barrier (see Chapters 4 and 5 for the reviews on GMR).
