SCATTERING-THEORY OF PERPENDICULAR TRANSPORT IN METALLIC MULTILAYERS

Electronic transport in metallic multilayers is discussed in the language of the Landauer-Buttiker scattering formalism. The semiclassical conductance through a disordered interface can be unambiguously separated into specular and diffuse scattering contributions. Analytical results are derived for the perpendicular conductance of multiple disordered interfaces. Predictions for the transport properties of interfaces with dilute but strongly scattering defects should be accessible to verification by experiments. First results of first-principles calculations of ballistic transport in magnetic multilayers are presented.