Correlation between magnetism and spin-dependent transport in CoFeB alloys

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Jan 9;102(1):016602. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.016602. Epub 2009 Jan 7.

Abstract

We report a correlation between the spin polarization of the tunneling electrons and the magnetic moment of amorphous CoFeB alloys. Such a correlation is surprising since the spin polarization of the tunneling electrons involves s-like electrons close to the Fermi level (E_{F}), while the magnetic moment mainly arises due to all the d electrons below E_{F}. We show that probing the s and d bands individually provides clear and crucial evidence for such a correlation to exist through s-d hybridization, and demonstrate the tunability of the electronic and magnetic properties of CoFeB alloys.