Spin-transfer phenomena in layered magnetic structures: Physical phenomena and materials aspects

During the past 20 years, layered structures consisting of ferromagnetic layers and spacers of various material classes with a thickness of only a few nanometers have revealed a variety of exciting and potentially very useful phenomena not present in bulk material. Representing distinct manifestations of spin-transfer processes, these phenomena may be categorized into interlayer exchange coupling (IEC), giant magnetoresistance (GMR), tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR), and the more recently discovered spin-transfer torque effect leading to current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) and current-driven magnetization dynamics. These phenomena clearly confer novel material properties on magnetic layered structures with respect to the (magneto-)transport and the magnetostatic as well as magnetodynamic behavior. Here, we will first concentrate on the less well understood aspects of IEC across insulating and semiconducting interlayers and relate the observations to TMR in the corresponding structures. In this context, we will also discuss more recent advances in TMR due to the use of electrodes made from Heusler alloys and the realization of coherent tunneling in epitaxial magnetic tunneling junctions. Finally, we will review our results on CIMS in epitaxial magnetic nanostructures showing that normal and inverse CIMS can occur simultaneously in a single nanopillar device. In all cases discussed, material issues play a major role in the detailed understanding of the spin-transfer effects, in particular in those systems that yield the largest effects and are thus of utmost interest for applications.