Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Starting from a tight binding formulation of the KKR (Korringa-Kohn-Rostocker) Green function method we developed a self consistent band structure code. By using a reference system containing repulsive muffin tin potentials we obtain structure constants which decay exponentially with distance. In the case of multilayered systems the numerical effort scales linearly with the number of monolayers in a unit cell. We report about calculations of CoCu(001) systems. With our method we are able to consider the electronic structure, the interlayer exchange coupling, and the transport properties (conductivity, giant magnetoresistance = GMR) on an equal footing.