GMR enhancement in spin valves structures with nano-semiconducting layer

We report on the giant magnetoresistance enhancement in Co/Ru/Co-based spin valve structures with nano-semiconducting layer. The films were grown by ion beam sputtering on glass substrate at room temperature. The soft layer is composed of Fe/Co bilayers, while the hard layer is ensured by the Co/Ru/Co artificial antiferromagnetic subsystem (AAF) as follows: Fe_5nm/Co_0.5nm/Cu_3nm/Co_3nm/Ru_0.5nm/Co_3nm/Cu_2nm/Cr_2nm. This structure shows a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) signal of about 1.7%. To confine the electrons inside the spin valve structure, a 1.5 nm thick ZnSe semiconducting layer has been grown on the top of the AAF. This induces a strong GMR increase, up to 4%, which can be attributed to a dominant potential step at the Co/ZnSe interface.