Magnon- and phonon-assisted tunneling in a high-magnetoresistance tunnel junction using Co75Fe25 ferromagnetic electrodes

Magnetoelectric properties of the spin-valve-type tunnel junction of Ta(5 nm)/Ni79Fe21(25 nm)/Ir22Mn78(12 nm)/Co75Fe25(4 nm)/Al(0.8 nm)-oxide/Co75Fe25(4 nm)/Ni79Fe21(20 nm)/Ta(5 nm) are investigated both experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that both magnon and phonon excitations contribute to the tunneling process. Moreover, we show that there are two branches of magnon with spin S = 1/2 and 3/2, respectively. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental data. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.