Tunnel Magnetoresistance in Strained L10-FeAu Perpendicular Magnetic Tunnel Junction

In this study, we have analyzed intermetallic $\mathrm{L}{1_{0}}\text{-}$ FeAu alloy-based magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) using Non-Equilibrium Green's Function (NEGF) technique in combination with Density Functional Theory (DFT), and performed a strain analysis to ascertain the influence of strain on its tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR). Our findings reveal that the unstrained $\mathrm{L}{1_{0}}-\text{FeAu}$ ferromagnet shows significantly high TMR because of the spin-polarized $\Delta _{1}$ bands on the Fermi surface. However, on applying strain, TMR has dropped in both tensile and compressive strain, as compared to the unstrained case. Our detailed analysis shows that there is a change in the spin-polarized bands at the Fermi surface under strain that leads to an overall reduction in TMR. These findings highlight the impact of strain on TMR of FeAu-based MTJs and provide valuable insights into its utilization in spintronic applications.