This three-year award supports U.S.-France cooperative research in condensed matter physics involving Peter A. Schroeder, William P. Pratt and Jack Bass of Michigan State University and Albert Fert of the University of Paris (Orsay), and M. Panissod of the Institute of the Physics and Chemistry of Materials in Strasbourg, France. The subject of the research explores the recent discovery that metallic multilayers with one ferromagnetic component, display Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR). GMR, a large drop in resistance when a magnetic field is applied, has been observed in several systems of metallic materials. The investigators propose to understand the physics involved and find other systems which exhibit similar properties. The research has important practical applications in the area of magnetic storage and magnetic sensors and could lead to improved commercial devices based on GMR. This cooperative research project takes advantage of unique facilities in Orsay and Strasbourg and complementary expertise of the U.S. and French research groups. The Michigan State group has a unique sputtering system, which has produced record high GMR samples. They have also developed techniques for measuring magnetoresistance of metallic multilayers. The Orsay group was the first to discover the GMR phenomenon and bring to this collaboration their expertise in characterization of materials, which is further enhanced by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) techniques and theoretical expertise of the Strasbourg investigators.
