JMMM 136 (1994) 335-349
Review article

Giant magnetoresistance in spin-valve multilayers
B. Dieny

A comprehensive review of giant magnetoresistance in spin-valve sandwiches
and multilayeers is presented, highlighting the epxerimental and
theoretical results which are of particular interest for the development
of applications of these systems, especially in magnetic recording
technology. The main points discussed include the physical origin of the
giant magnetoresistance, the influence of the thickness of the magnetic
and nonmagnetic layers, the influence of the interfacial roughness, the
angular dependence of the giant magnetoresistance, and the ability to
obtain linear R(H) characteristics. A summary of properties of some
systems amongs the most promising for low-field applications is
given. Some theoretical results, based on an extension to Camley and
Barnas' semi-classical theory, are presented. This simple theoretical
approach can serve as a tool in the optimization of the thicknesses or
number of periods of spin-valve structures.