GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE CAUSED BY MAGNETIC-FIELD-SENSITIVE RESONANT-TUNNELING IN A RANDOM MULTIBARRIER SEMICONDUCTOR SUPERLATTICE

By using a transmission probability formalism, we perform a calculatio n for the conductance related to the tunnelling of electrons through a semiconductor multibarrier superlattice with special thickness random ness in the presence of a magnetic field. Because of the sharp resonan ce of the tunnelling in such a structure, the current is highly sensit ive to the variation of the in-plane magnetic field. The calculated re sults show a giant magnetoresistance even for small strength of the he ld. Possible applications of this effect are discussed. (C) 1998 Acade mic Press.