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We have investigated the current-induced spin transfer torque of a ferromagnet–insulator–ferromagnet tunnel junction by taking the spin-flip scatterings into account. It is found that the spin-flip scattering can induce an additional spin torque, enhancing the maximum of the spin torque and giving rise to an angular shift compared to the case when the spin-flip scatterings are neglected. The effects of the molecular fields of the left and right ferromagnets on the spin torque are also studied. It is found that τRx/Ie (τRx is the spin-transfer torque acting on the right ferromagnet and Ie is the tunneling electrical current) does vary with the molecular fields. At two certain angles, τRx/Ie is independent of the molecular field of the right ferromagnet, resulting in two crossing points in the curve of τRx/Ie versus the relevant orientation for different molecular fields. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

By means of the nonequilibrium Green function technique, the effect of spin-flip scatterings on the spin-dependent electrical transport in ferromagnet–insulator–ferromagnet (FM–I–FM) tunnel junctions is investigated. It is shown that Jullie`re's formula for the tunnel conductance must be modified when including the contribution from the spin-flip scatterings. It is found that the spin-flip scatterings could lead to an angular shift of the tunnel conductance, giving rise to the junction resistance not being the largest when the orientations of magnetizations in the two FM electrodes are antiparallel, which may offer an alternative explanation for such a phenomenon observed previously in experiments in some FM–I–FM junctions. The spin-flip assisted tunneling is also observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]