Effect of Anti-Diffusion Oxide Layer on Enhanced Thermal Stability of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions

Magnetic tunnel junctions （MTJs） with one proper oxidized FeOx layer placed between the Al oxide barrier and the top CoFe pinned layer show large tunnelling-magnetoresistance （TMR） signals as high as 39% after anneal at 380℃. The increased TMR signal may originate from the as-deposited Fe/FeOx （non-magnetic） layers changing to Fe＋magnetic FeOy layer （some Fe3O4 and mostly other kind of magnetic Fe oxide） after high temperature anneal. The maximum TMR value （TMR ） and the corresponding temperature Ts where the TMRmax occurs upon annealing are closely associated with the oxidation time of the AlOx and FeOx layers, too long oxidation for the Fe layers is detrimental for the TMR value. In addition to the enhanced AlOx barrier quality upon anneal, the improved thermal stability is also attributed to the Mn diffusion retardation by the presence of the FeOx layer which acts as an antidiffusion layer. For MTJs without the interposed FeOx layer, the TMR signal reduction at 300℃ originates from the Mnlr/CoFe partially decoupling and CoFe/AlOx interface polarization loss due to the significant Mn diffusion.     

Electron Holography of Barrier Structures in Co／ZrAlOx／Co Magnetic Tunnel Junctions

We investigate the potential profiles and elemental distribution of barriers in Co/ZrAlOx/Co magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) using electron holography (EH) and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The MTJ barriers are introduced by oxidizing a bilayer consisting with a uniform 0.45-nm Al layer and a wedge-shaped Zr layer (0-2 nm). From the scanning transmission electron microscopy, AlOx and ZrOx layers are mixed together, indicating that compact AlOx layer cannot be formed in such a bilayer structure of barriers. The Eli results reveal that there are no sharp interfaces between the barrier and magnetic electrodes, which may be responsible for a smaller tunnelling magnetoresistance compared with the MTJs of Co/AlOx/Co.     

Influence of temperature on thermal relaxation of exchange bias field in CoFe/Cu/CoFe/IrMn spin valve

A multilayered spin valve film with a structure of Ta(5 nm)/Co_(75)Fe_(25)(5 nm)/Cu(2.5 nm)/Co_(75)Fe_(25)(5 nm)/Ir_(20)Mn_(80)(12 nm)/Ta(8 nm) is prepared by the high-vacuum direct current(DC) magnetron sputtering. The effect of temperature on the spin valve structure and the magnetic properties are studied by x-ray diffraction(XRD), atomic force microscopy(AFM), and vibrating sample magnetometry. The effect of temperature on the exchange bias field thermomagnetic properties of multilayered spin valve is studied by the residence time of samples in a reverse saturation field. The results show that as the temperature increases, the Ir Mn(111) texture weakens, surface/interface roughness increases, and the exchange bias field decreases. Below 200℃, the exchange bias field decreases with the residence time increasing, and at the beginning of the negative saturation field, the exchange bias field Hex decreases first quickly and then slowly gradually. When the temperature is greater than 200℃, the exchange bias field is unchanged with the residence time increasing.     

Vortex domain structures and dc currentdependence of magneto-resistances in magnetic tunnel junctions

Microfabrication and the magneto-transport characteristics of the magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with a spin-valve-type structure of Ta (5nm)/Ni_{79}Fe_{21} (25nm)/Ir_{22}Mn_{78} (12nm)/Co_{75}Fe_{25} (4nm)/Al(0.8nm) oxide/Co_{75}Fe_{25} (4nm)/Ni_{79}Fe_{21} (20nm)/Ta(5nm) were investigated in this paper. A series of experimental data measured with a MTJ was used to verify a magnon-assisted tunnelling model and theory. Furthermore, a micromagnetics simulation shows that the butterfly-like vortex domain structures can be formed under a current-induced Oersted field, which decreases the net magnetization values of the ferromagnetic electrodes under a large dc current (i.e., in high voltage regimes). It is one of the main reasons for the tunnel magnetoresistance ratios to decrease significantly at high voltage biasing.     

MgO(001) barrier based magnetic tunnel junctions and their device applications

Spintronics has received a great attention and significant interest within the past decades,and provided considerable and remarked applications in industry and electronic information etc.In spintronics,the MgO based magnetic tunnel junction(MTJ) is an important research advancement because of its physical properties and excellent performance,such as the high TMR ratio in MgO based MTJs.We present an overview of more than a decade development in MgO based MTJs.The review contains three main sections.(1) Research of several types of MgO based MTJs,including single-crystal MgO barrier based-MTJs,double barrier MTJs,MgO based MTJs with interlayer,novel electrode material MTJs based on MgO,novel barrier based MTJs,novel barrier MTJs based on MgO,and perpendicular MTJs.(2) Some typical physical effects in MgO based MTJs,which include six observed physical effects in MgO based MTJs,namely spin transfer torque(STT) effect,Coulomb blockade magnetoresistance(CBMR) effect,oscillatory magnetoresistance,quantum-well resonance tunneling effect,electric field assisted magnetization switching effect,and spincaloric effect.(3) In the last section,a brief introduction of some important device applications of MgO based MTJs,such as GMR & TMR read heads and magneto-sensitive sensors,both field and current switching MRAM,spin nano oscillators,and spin logic devices,have been provided.     

Thermal Stability of CoFe/Cu/CoFe/IrMn Top Spin Valve

We present a study of thermal stability of the top spin valve with a structure of seed Ta （Snm）/Co75Fe25 （5 nm ） /Cu （2.5 nm） /Co75Fe25 （5 nm ） /Ir20Mn80（12 nm） /cap Ta （8 nm） deposited at room temperature by magnetron sputtering. A vibrating sample magnetometer fixed with a heater was used to record the magnetic hysteresis loops at variational temperatures and x-ray diffraction was performed to characterize the structure of the multilayer. The exchange field Hex and the coercivity of the pinned CoFe layer Hop decrease monotonically with increasing temperature. The coercivity of the free CoFe layer Hcf in the spin valve shows a maximum at 498K. The temperature dependences of Hex, Hop and Hcf have also been discussed.     

Magnetic properties of a Pt/Co₂ FeAl/MgO structure with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Microstructures and magnetic properties of Ta/Pt/Co 2 FeAl(CFA)/MgO multilayers are studied to understand perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(PMA) of half-metallic full-Heusler alloy films.PMA is realized in a 2.5-nm CFA film with B2-ordered structure observed by a high resolution transmission electron microscope.It is demonstrated that a high quality interface between the ferromagnetic layer and oxide layer is not essential for PMA.The conversions between in-plane anisotropy and PMA are investigated to study the dependence of magnetic moment on temperature.At the intersection points,the decreasing slope of the saturation magnetization(M s) changes because of the conversions.The dependence of M s on the annealing temperature and MgO thickness is also studied.     

Optimization of TiO_2/Cu/TiO_2 multilayers as a transparent composite electrode deposited by electron-beam evaporation at room temperature

Highly transparent indium-free composite electrodes of Ti O2/Cu/Ti O2 are deposited by electron-beam evaporation at room temperature. The effects of Cu thickness and annealing temperature on the electrical and optical properties of the multilayer film are investigated. The critical thickness of Cu mid-layer to form a continuous conducting layer is found to be 11 nm. The multilayer with a mid-Cu thickness of 11 nm is optimized to obtain a resistivity of 7.4×10-5Ω·cm and an average optical transmittance of 86% in the visible spectral range. The figure of merit of the Ti O2/Cu(11 nm)/Ti O2 multilayer annealed at 150ΩC reaches a minimum resistivity of 5.9×10-5Ω·cm and an average optical transmittance of 88% in the visible spectral range. The experimental results indicate that Ti O2/Cu/Ti O2 multilayers can be used as a transparent electrode for solar cell and other display applications.     

First principle calculations of thermodynamic properties of pure graphene sheet and graphene sheets with Si,Ge,Fe,and Co impurities

The thermal properties of pure graphene and graphene–impurity(impurity = Fe,Co,Si,and Ge) sheets have been investigated at various pressures(0–7 GPa) and temperatures(0–900 K).Some basic thermodynamic quantities such as bulk modulus,coefficient of volume thermal expansion,heat capacities at constant pressure and constant volume of these sheets as a function of temperature and pressure are discussed.Furthermore,the effect of the impurity density and tensile strain on the thermodynamic properties of these sheets are investigated.All of these calculations are performed based on the density functional theory and full quasi harmonic approximation.     

Influence of Zr(50)Cu(50) thin film metallic glass as buffer layer on the structural and optoelectrical properties of AZO films

Aluminum-doped ZnO(AZO) thin films with thin film metallic glass of Zr(50)Cu(50) as buffer are prepared on glass substrates by the pulsed laser deposition. The influence of buffer thickness and substrate temperature on structural, optical, and electrical properties of AZO thin film are investigated. Increasing the thickness of buffer layer and substrate temperature can both promote the transformation of AZO from amorphous to crystalline structure, while they show(100)and(002) unique preferential orientations, respectively. After inserting Zr(50)Cu(50) layer between the glass substrate and AZO film, the sheet resistance and visible transmittance decrease, but the infrared transmittance increases. With substrate temperature increasing from 25℃ to 520℃, the sheet resistance of AZO(100 nm)/Zr(50)Cu(50)(4 nm) film first increases and then decreases, and the infrared transmittance is improved. The AZO(100 nm)/Zr(50)Cu(50)(4 nm) film deposited at a substrate temperature of 360℃ exhibits a low sheet resistance of 26.7 ?/, high transmittance of 82.1% in the visible light region, 81.6% in near-infrared region, and low surface roughness of 0.85 nm, which are useful properties for their potential applications in tandem solar cell and infrared technology.     

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction and its application in magnetic random access memory

Recent progresses in magnetic tunnel junctions with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(PMA) are reviewed and summarized. At first, the concept and source of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(PMA) are introduced. Next, a historical overview of PMA materials as magnetic electrodes, such as the RE–TM alloys TbFeCo and GdFeCo, novel tetragonal manganese alloys Mn–Ga, L10-ordered(Co, Fe)/Pt alloy, multilayer film [Co, Fe, CoFe/Pt, Pd, Ni, Au]N, and ultra-thin magnetic metal/oxidized barrier is offered. The other part of the article focuses on the optimization and fabrication of CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB p-MTJs, which is thought to have high potential to meet the main demands for non-volatile magnetic random access memory.     

Influence of Interface Structure of Co/Cu （100） Superlattices on Electronic Structure and Giant Magnetoresistance

Electronic structures and magnetoresistance （MR） of Co3 Cu5 and Co3 Cur models as well as their interface atom exchange models Co2 CuCoCu4 and Co2 CuCoCu6 are investigated by the tlrst-principles pseudopotential planewave method based on density functional theory. Charge transfer, magnetic moment, density of states, spin asymmetry factor, and MR ratio are discussed. The results show that the values of charge transfer and spin asymmetry factor at the Fermi level of Co layers are closely related to the neighbouring background of the Co layer. The Co layer with two sides adjacent to the Cu layer would transfer more charge to the Cu layer than other neighbouring background and have the largest spin asymmetry factor at the Fermi level. The Co layer with two neighbouring Co layers （interior Co） would gain a little charge and have the smallest spin asymmetry factor at the Fermi level. Two-current model is used to evaluate the MR ratio of Co2CuCoCu4 （Co2CuCoCu6） to be larger than that of Co3 Cu5 （Co3 CUT）, which can be explained by the charge transfer and spin asymmetry factor.     

Giant magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic Mn_2Au-based tunnel junction

Recent studies on the electrical switching of tetragonal antiferromagnet(AFM) via Neél spin-orbit torque have paved the way for the economic use of antiferromagnetic materials. The most difficult obstacle that presently limits the application of antiferromagnetic materials in spintronics, especially in memory storage applications, could be the small and fragile magnetoresistance(MR) in the AFM-based nanostructure. In this study, we investigated the spin transports in Mn_2Au-based tunnel junctions based on the first-principle scattering theory. Giant MRs more than 1000% are predicted in some Fe/MgO/Ag/Mn_2Au/Ta junctions that are about the same order as that in an MgO-based ferromagnetic tunnel junction with same barrier thickness. The interplay of the spin filtering effect, the quantum well resonant states, and the interfacial resonant states could be responsible for the unusual giant and robust MRs observed in these Mn_2Au-based junctions.     

Giant Tunneling Magnetoresistance in Spin-Filter Magnetic Tunnel Junctions Based on van der Waals A-Type Antiferromagnet CrSBr

Two-dimensional van der Waals magnetic materials have demonstrated great potential for new-generation high-performance and versatile spintronic devices. Among them, magnetic tunnel junctions(MTJs) based on A-type antiferromagnets, such as CrI₃, possess record-high tunneling magnetoresistance(TMR) because of the spin filter effect of each insulating unit ferromagnetic layer. However, the relatively low working temperature and the instability of the chromium halides hinder applications ...     

Magnetic field effects in organic light-emitting diodes with Co electrode

Tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)-aluminum eAlq3T–based organic light-emitting diodes with Co electrode are fabricated. The positive magnetic electroluminescence(MEL) and magnetic conductance(MC) are observed in the samples, reaching 4.35% and 1.67% under the field of 42 m T at 50 K, respectively, and the MEL and MC traces can be fitted to non-Lorentzian line shapes. The MEL varies as a function of the Co thickness and reaches the optimal value at 10 nm. The MEL and MC dependence on voltage and temperature is also investigated. The electron-hole pair model and the spin-polarized injection mechanism are used to understand the experimental results.     

Magnetic Behaviour of Sm2Co7/Fe/Sm2 Co7, Nanocomposite Trilayers with Cr and Ti Additions

Trilayered Sm2Co7/Fe/Sm2Co7 spring exchange magnets are fabricated by dc magnetron sputtering on MgO substrates. Very thin layers （0.3-0.7 nm） of Cr and Ti are added at the interfaces of the two magnetic phases. The thickness of StucCo7 is kept at 20nm and Fe at 6nm while the thickness of Cr and Ti are varied as 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7nm. The base pressure of sputtering chamber is kept below 10^-7 Torr and Ar pressure at 3-8m Torr. The samples are characterized by x-ray diffraction （XRD） and SQUID magnetometer. We report improvement in exchange coupling of nonacomposite magnets by addition of thin layers of Cr at interfaces.     

Effect of flash thermal annealing by pulsed current on rotational anisotropy in exchange-biased NiFe/FeMn film

In this paper, Ta/[NiFe(15 nm)/FeMn(10 nm)]/Ta exchange-biased bilayers are fabricated by magnetron sputtering,and their static and dynamic magnetic properties before and after rapid annealing treatment with pulsed current are characterized by using a vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM) and a vector network analyzer(VNA), respectively. The exchange bias field He and static anisotropy field Hsta kdecrease from 118.45 Oe(1 Oe = 79.5775 A·m~(-1)) and 126.84 Oe at 0 V to94.75 Oe and 102.31 Oe at 90 V, respectively, with increasing capacitor voltage, which supplies pulsed current to heat the sample. The effect of flash thermal annealing by pulsed current on the rotational anisotropy(Hrot), the difference value between static and dynamic magnetic anisotropy, is investigated particularly. The highest Hrot is obtained in the sample annealing with 45-V capacitor(3300 μF) voltage. According to the anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements, it can be explained by the fact that the temperature of the sample is around the blocking temperature of the exchange bias system(T_b) at 45 V, the critical temperature where the formation of more unstable antiferromagnetic grains occurs.     

Strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in Co2FeAl0.5Si0.5 film sandwiched by MgO layers

Co2FeAl0.5Si0.5 (CFAS)-based multilayers sandwiched by MgO layers have been deposited and annealed at different temperatures. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) with the magnetic anisotropy energy density Ku ≈2.5×106 erg/cm3 (1 erg = 10-7 J) and the coercivity Hc = 363 Oe (1 Oe = 79.9775 A · m-1) has been achieved in the Si/SiO2/MgO (1.5 nm)/CFAS (2.5 nm)/MgO (0.8 nm)/Pt (5 nm) film annealed at 300 ℃. The strong PMA is mainly due to the top MgO layer. The structure can be used as top magnetic electrodes in half-metallic perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions.     

Experiments and SPICE simulations of double MgO-based perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction

We investigate properties of perpendicular anisotropy magnetic tunnel junctions(pMTJs) with a stack structure MgO/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/MgO as the free layer(or recording layer),and obtain the necessary device parameters from the tunneling magnetoresistance(TMR) vs.field loops and current-driven magnetization switching experiments.Based on the experimental results and device parameters,we further estimate current-driven switching performance of pMTJ including switching time and power,and their dependence on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and damping constant of the free layer by SPICE-based circuit simulations.Our results show that the pMTJ cells exhibit a less than 1 ns switching time and write energies 1.4 pJ;meanwhile the lower perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(PMA) and damping constant can further reduce the switching time at the studied range of damping constant α 0.1.Additionally,our results demonstrate that the pMTJs with the thermal stability factor■73 can be easily transformed into spin-torque nano-oscillators from magnetic memory as microwave sources or detectors for telecommunication devices.     

Magnetic properties of a Pt/Co2FeAl/MgO structure with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Microstructures and magnetic properties of Ta/Pt/Co 2 FeAl（CFA）/MgO multilayers are studied to understand perpendicular magnetic anisotropy（PMA） of half-metallic full-Heusler alloy films.PMA is realized in a 2.5-nm CFA film with B2-ordered structure observed by a high resolution transmission electron microscope.It is demonstrated that a high quality interface between the ferromagnetic layer and oxide layer is not essential for PMA.The conversions between in-plane anisotropy and PMA are investigated to study the dependence of magnetic moment on temperature.At the intersection points,the decreasing slope of the saturation magnetization（M s） changes because of the conversions.The dependence of M s on the annealing temperature and MgO thickness is also studied.