Electronic structures and giant magnetoresistance of Co/Cu superlattices with different orientations

The electronic structures of Co3 Cu3 superlattices with the orientations of (100), (110) and (111) are calculated by the first-principle method within the framework of the density functional theory. It has been found that the spin-dependent scattering and charge transfers are prominent at interfaces compared to the interior layers for the three orientation superlattices. We also evaluate the magnetoresistance ratio by using the two-current model. The results show that the giant magnetoresistance ratio decreases in the order of (110), (100), (111) orientations for Co3Cu3 models (49.4%, 37.7%, 29.3%, respectively). Further analysis shows that an expansion of average atomic volume would enhance the magnetic moment of Co, which is consistent with other calculation and experimental results. In addition, the giant magnetoresistance effect is analysed from the point of charge transfer.