Temperature dependence of spin transport behavior in Heusler alloy CPP-GMR

In this study, we investigate the effect of temperature on the performance of a read sensor by utilizing an atomistic model coupled with a spin transport model. Specifically, we study the temperature dependence of spin transport behavior and MR outputs in a <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mtext>Co</mml:mtext> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msub> <mml:msub><mml:mtext>FeAl</mml:mtext> <mml:mrow><mml:mn>0.5</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:msub><mml:mtext>Si</mml:mtext> <mml:mrow><mml:mn>0.5</mml:mn></mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> (CFAS)(5nm)/Cu(5nm)/CFAS(5nm) trilayer with diffusive interfaces. Initially, the two-channel model of spin-dependent resistivity is used to calculate the temperature dependence of spin transport parameters which serves as essential input for the spin accumulation model. Our findings demonstrate that as the temperature increases, the spin transport parameters and magnetic properties decrease due to the influence of thermal fluctuation. At a critical temperature, where the ferromagnet transitions to a paramagnetic state, we observe zero spin polarization. Furthermore, at elevated temperatures, the spin accumulation deviates from the equilibrium value, leading to a reduction in the magnitude of spin current and spin transport parameters due to thermal effects. As a consequence, the MR ratio decreases from 65% to 20% with increasing temperature from 0 to 400 K. Our results are consistent with previous experimental measurements. This study allows to deeply understand the physical mechanism in the reader stack which can significantly benefit reader design.