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Albert Fert Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-11-05
Albert Fert coauthored the discovery of giant magnetoresistance in alternating iron and chromium layers. In the 1988 measurements, a magnetic field of 2 tesla nearly halved the electrical resistivity of one thin-chromium sample at 4.2 kelvin. Spin-dependent electron transmission through the chromium layers explained why changing the magnetic arrangement changed the electrical resistance so strongly. The experiment made nanoscale layer structure and electron spin directly relevant to an easily measured electrical signal.[ref]
A physicist.[ref]
Albert Fert, CNRS Gold Medal for 2003 by Claude Delhaye. Independent professional identity
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Portrait of Albert Fert
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Fe-Cr giant magnetoresistance experiments Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
The 1988 study grew alternating iron/chromium layers by molecular beam epitaxy on gallium arsenide. Magnetization and torque measurements tested the magnetic configuration. An AC electrical resistance measurement passed electric current along the layers while the applied magnetic field changed. Comparing field directions and spacer thicknesses linked the resistance decrease to magnetic saturation. Electron microscopy and surface analysis checked layer formation, while leaving atomic-scale interface roughness unresolved.[ref]
Giant Magnetoresistance of (001)Fe⁄(001)Cr Magnetic Superlattices by Mário Norberto Baibich and others. pp.2472–2474, preparation, Figs.1–3 and interface limits
The independent Jülich study used four-terminal sensing on epitaxial Fe/Cr/Fe strips. A single iron film supplied an anisotropic magnetoresistance comparison. Magneto-optic Kerr effect signals and Brillouin light scattering from spin waves identified the layer alignments, rather than inferring them from resistance alone. Field scans along different magnetic axes connected the optical signatures to the resistance changes.[ref]
Enhanced magnetoresistance in layered magnetic structures with antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange by G. Binasch and others. pp.4828–4830, four-point method, reference film and Figs.1–2
Peter Andreas Grünberg's retrospective explains why the preceding interlayer exchange coupling measurements mattered: coupled spin wave modes supplied signatures of magnetic alignment before that alignment became an electrical signal.[ref]
Nobel Lecture: From spin waves to giant magnetoresistance and beyond by Peter Andreas Grünberg. pp.1533–1535, coupled modes and antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange
Current along a magnetic multilayer and an independent check of layer alignment
. Original functional illustration of current-in-plane transport and a generic four-terminal readout. Two idealized magnetic configurations are shown; dimensions, contact positions and layer count do not reconstruct either historical specimen. Optical probing supplies alignment information independently of the electrical signal. Source. Details.
A resistance curve alone does not reveal the microscopic direction of every magnetic layer. The optical measurements add a different observable, while the reference film tests an orientation-dependent response that can occur without a multilayer. Sample preparation and cross-checks therefore belong to the physical explanation.
Mário Norberto Baibich Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-11-05
An experimental condensed matter physicist who coauthored measurements of giant magnetoresistance in alternating iron and chromium layers. Applying a magnetic field substantially reduced the electrical resistance, attributed to spin-dependent electron transmission between the magnetic layers. The experiment connected a nanoscale multilayer structure to a large, electrically measurable magnetic response.[ref]
Giant Magnetoresistance of (001)Fe⁄(001)Cr Magnetic Superlattices by Mário Norberto Baibich and others. Abstract: epitaxial superlattices, resistivity change and spin-dependent transmission