ANGULAR-DEPENDENCE OF GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE IN MAGNETIC MULTILAYERED STRUCTURES

We present an analytical quantum-statistical theory of the angular var iation of the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) in magnetic multilayers (c urrent flowing in the plane of the layers) which takes into account bo th spin-dependent scattering of conduction electrons and spin-dependen t potential barriers between successive layers. We show that the widel y accepted linear variation of the GMR with the cosine of the angle be tween the magnetizations in the successive ferromagnetic layers is val id when the GMR originates from a spin-dependent scattering mechanism without potential barriers between layers. In the presence of potentia l barriers, the angular variation of the GMR can be much more complex.