Angular dependence of the magnetoresistance in nanoparticle arrays

Abstract

The interplay between the ferromagnetism and the charging effects strongly affects the electron transport through nanoparticle arrays when they are placed between two ferromagnetic electrodes with collinear magnetizations. There are oscillations in the current for the parallel orientation of magnetizations, and large values of the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR). We analyze the transport properties in nanoparticle arrays for the case of noncollinear magnetizations. We show that the I–V and TMR curves strongly depend on the angle θ between the magnetization orientations of both electrodes. Large values of TMR are obtained for several values of θ.