Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge / 2023 / Paper 2 / Section A(ii) / 16 / iii

Specify the magnetoresistance ratio as $(R_{AP}-R_P)/R_P$. Increasing a continuous Cu spacer adds spin-independent series resistance. Even when $d$ remains below the spin diffusion length, this dilutes the ratio; spin information need not be destroyed to reduce the percentage signal. In the illustrative two-current resistor model,which decreases as $d$ increases. The absolute difference also decreases in this model. At a fixed bias current, the measured voltage contrast is $\Delta V=I(R_{AP}-R_P)$.

For $d$ comparable to or greater than the spin diffusion length, additional spin relaxation further suppresses the contrast. At the other extreme an ultrathin or discontinuous Cu layer can introduce direct magnetic coupling or pinholes, preventing a fully antiparallel state. Thickness-dependent interlayer coupling can therefore make the very-thin-spacer trend nonmonotonic; a universal exponential law does not follow from the supplied assumptions.