Tunneling Anisotropic Magnetoresistance-Based Devices

The paper demonstrates the operation of several devices based on tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance. This effect, which originates from the interplay between the magnetic and transport properties in magnetic materials with strong spin-orbit coupling such as the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As, leads to a dependence of the tunneling resistance of devices with respect to the direction of the magnetization in the (Ga,Mn)As layer. We show that such devices can be operated as either information storage elements or sensors. It was also demonstrated that they can be used in either volatile or nonvolatile mode and that they provide either two-state or multiple state devices in either of these modes. Lastly, we present experimental evidence that they can be coupled to traditional ferromagnetic materials to still further enhance the variety of possible device functionalities