Quantum Oscillations of Tunnel Magnetoresistance Induced by Spin-Wave Excitations in Ferromagnet-Ferromagnet-Ferromagnet Double Barrier Tunnel Junctions

The possibility of quantum oscillations of the tunnel conductance and magnetoresistance induced by spin-wave excitations in a ferromagnet-ferromagnet-ferromagnet double barrier tunnel junction, when the magnetizations of the two side ferromagnets are aligned antiparallel to that of the middle ferromagnet, is investigated in a self-consistent manner by means of Keldysh nonequilibrium Green function method. It has been found that owing to the s-d exchange interactions between conduction electrons and the spin density induced by spin accumulation in the middle ferromagnet, the differential conductance and the TMR indeed oscillate with the increase of bias voltage, being consistent with the phenomenon that is observed recently in experiments. The effects of magnon modes, the energy levels of electrons as well as the molecular field in the central ferromagnet on the oscillatory transport property of the system are also discussed.