Spin-dependent tunneling conductance in TbCoFe/Pr6O11/TbCoFe films

The experimental results of the investigation of tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) in TbCoFe/Pr₆O₁₁/TbCoFe films at temperatures of 80 and 300 K are presented. The resistance of the structure increases by more than a factor of 1.5 at room temperature and by more than a factor of 3 at a temperature of 80 K under the transition from the state with the magnetization of the TbCoFe layers in a certain direction to the state with the magnetization in the opposite directions. The magnitude of TMR increases when the tunneling transition region is irradiated by nitrogen-laser radiation and when the thickness of the barrier layer increases from 10 to 40 nm. A large TMR value is presumably achieved due to the use of the paramagnetic Pr₆O₁₁ barrier layer.