Room temperature tunneling anisotropic and collinear magnetoresistance

We report a room temperature tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance in Co/Al2O3/NiFe junctions containing magnetic electrodes oxidized prior to forming the Al2O3 layer. A significant change in a tunnel magnetoresistance is observed when the layer magnetizations are rotated collinearly in the junction plane by an applied external field. The angular dependence of the tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance could be explained by the presence of an antiferromagnetic oxide layer formed within the barrier.