Electronic structure and transport properties of atomic NiO spinvalves
  Ab-initio quantum transport calculations show that short NiO chains suspended in Ni nanocontacts present a very strong spin-polarization of the conductance. The generalized gradient approximation we use here predicts a similiar polarization of the conductance as the one previously computed with non-local exchange, confirming the robustness of the result. Their use as nanoscopic spinvalves is proposed. 
David Jacob, J. Fern\'andez-Rossier, J. J. Palacios