Magnetic tunnel junction thermocouple for thermoelectric power harvesting

The thermoelectric power generated in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) is determined as a function of the tunnel barrier thickness for a matched electric circuit. This study suggests that lower resistance area product and higher tunnel magnetoresistance will maximize the thermoelectric power output of the MTJ structures. Further, the thermoelectric behavior of a series of two MTJs, a MTJ thermocouple, is investigated as a function of its magnetic configurations. In an alternating magnetic configurations the thermovoltages cancel each other, while the magnetic contribution remains. A large array of MTJ thermocouples could amplify the magnetic thermovoltage signal significantly.     

Further evidence against mean-free-path effects in the CPP-MR

Mean-free-paths were recently claimed to be scaling lengths in the current-perpendicular-to-plane magnetoresistance when they are longer than the layer thicknesses of magnetic multilayers. We provide two new sets of evidence against such a claim; one involves reducing mean-free-paths by alloying, the other inserting a source of strong spin flipping.     

Very strong interlayer exchange coupling in epitaxial Fe/Fe1−xSix/Fe trilayers (x=0.4–1.0)

Fe/Fe_1−xSi_x/Fe (x=0.4–1.0) wedge-type epitaxial trilayers with improved homogeneity are grown by co-evaporation from two electron-beam sources. The coupling strengths of the bilinear (J₁) and biquadratic (J₂) coupling terms are derived from Brillouin light scattering (BLS) spectra and longitudinal MOKE hysteresis loops. The total coupling strength J=J₁+J₂ increases dramatically with increasing x and reaches values in excess of 6 mJ/m².     

Observation of a tunneling magnetoresistance effect in magnetic tunneling junctions with a high resistance ferromagnetic oxide Fe2⋅5Mn0⋅5O4 electrode

A high resistance ferromagnetic oxide Fe_2⋅5Mn_0⋅5O₄ (FMO) property as a novel spin injector was investigated with a structure of a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) composed of FMO/Al-O/Ni₈₀Fe₂₀, in order to reduce an impedance mismatch problem on molecular spintronics. A tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect in the MTJs was observed. The maximum TMR ratio observed in the MTJs was approximately 0.85% at room temperature (RT), and the spin-polarization of FMO was estimated to be at least 0.94% at RT.     

Interlayer exchange coupling: an in situ investigation via ferromagnetic resonance

A new absolute way to deduce the interlayer exchange coupling via in situ ferromagnetic resonance measurements in Cu/Ni/Cu/Ni/Cu(0 0 1) films is presented. The signal of the first magnetic layer before and after the deposition of the second one is compared and the exchange coupling is extracted from the shift of the resonance position in the coupled system with respect to the Cu/Ni bilayer.     

Ultrastructure of the myotendinous junction of the medial pterygoid muscle of adult and aged Wistar rats

The myotendon junction (MTJ) is a specialised area into the muscle fibers where the sarcoplasmic membranes connect to the collagen fibers bundles. There are few data about plasticity of the MTJ in aging processes. The aim of this study is to analyse the ultrastructure characteristics of MTJ of medial pterygoid muscle of adult and aged rats. Employing the transmission electron microscopy method, twenty male rats Wistar (Rattus norvegicus) were divided into two groups: A (n = 10) with 12 months of age; B (n = 10) 24 months of age. The animals were anaesthetised with overdose the urethane (3 g/kg, i.p.) and sacrified during the perfusion with modified Karnovsky solution. The specimens were post-fixed in a 1% osmium tetroxide solution, dehydrated in ascending concentration of ethanol and embedded in Spurr resin. The thin sections, of 90 nm thick, were counterstained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate solution, and examined in a Jeol 1010 transmission electron microscope. The fine structure of the MTJ of group A revealed the defined interdigitations and disposed in several levels of deep formations containing the collagen fibers. In the group B, such structures did not observed, detecting the projections irregular in shape, and large of extra matrix with in aspect of remodelling. In conclusion it was possible to identify the plasticity of MTJ in the group B which presented several morphological alterations comparing to the adult animals. These data of group B suggested the occurrence of aging processes in the MTJ in rats.     

On cobalt magnetization suppression at bimetallic interfaces

We study theoretically the Co magnetization suppression at the Co–M (M=Ti, Nb, Mo, Re, Os, Ir and Pt) interface. We consider (1) M(1×1) overlayer on the FCC(1 1 1) or HCP(0 0 0 1) slab, (2) c(2×2) Co–M alloy above the same surfaces. In the latter case, the Co magnetization is reduced to about 0.5 μ_B by Ti, Nb, Mo and Re, but the effect is probably an overestimation because of compression of M–Co bonds. At Co atoms below the M(1×1) overlayer, the Co magnetization does not drop below 1 μ_B. We discuss also the Co–M antiferromagnetic coupling.     

Probing antiferromagnetic order with heat capacity in exchange-biased structures

We explore the magnetic heat capacity in exchange-biased ferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayers theoretically. We show that changes in the antiferromagnetic structure due to the reversal of the ferromagnet layer can be detected by distinct features in the heat capacity. This offers a method for probing antiferromagnetic domains in exchange-biased systems.     

Barrier height and negative tunnel magnetoresistance

Based on the free-electron approximation method proposed by Slonczewski, we substitute the finite magnetic zone by a semi-infinite magnet. On this basis, the relationship between the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) and the barrier height of magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is studied. We find the TMR at small bias is always positive for various barrier heights when the MTJ has a symmetric configuration and the negative TMR can be observed when MTJ is with lower barrier height in the asymmetric condition.     

Biological surface science

Biological surface science (BioSS), as defined here is the broad interdisciplinary area where properties and processes at interfaces between synthetic materials and biological environments are investigated and biofunctional surfaces are fabricated. Six examples are used to introduce and discuss the subject: Medical implants in the human body, biosensors and biochips for diagnostics, tissue engineering, bioelectronics, artificial photosynthesis, and biomimetic materials. They are areas of varying maturity, together constituting a strong driving force for the current rapid development of BioSS. The second driving force is the purely scientific challenges and opportunities to explore the mutual interaction between biological components and surfaces.

Model systems range from the unique water structures at solid surfaces and water shells around proteins and biomembranes, via amino and nucleic acids, proteins, DNA, phospholipid membranes, to cells and living tissue at surfaces. At one end of the spectrum the scientific challenge is to map out the structures, bonding, dynamics and kinetics of biomolecules at surfaces in a similar way as has been done for simple molecules during the past three decades in surface science. At the other end of the complexity spectrum one addresses how biofunctional surfaces participate in and can be designed to constructively participate in the total communication system of cells and tissue.

Biofunctional surfaces call for advanced design and preparation in order to match the sophisticated (bio) recognition ability of biological systems. Specifically this requires combined topographic, chemical and visco-elastic patterns on surfaces to match proteins at the nm scale and cells at the micrometer scale. Essentially all methods of surface science are useful. High-resolution (e.g. scanning probe) microscopies, spatially resolved and high sensitivity, non-invasive optical spectroscopies, self-organizing monolayers, and nano- and microfabrication are important for BioSS. However, there is also a need to adopt or develop new methods for studies of biointerfaces in the native, liquid state.

For the future it is likely that BioSS will have an even broader definition than above and include native interfaces, and that combinations of molecular (cell) biology and BioSS will contribute to the understanding of the “living state”.     

The remagnetization process in spin-valve structures

The process of magnetization reversal in ultrathin magnetic trilayer is analyzed. It is shown that the shape of magnetization hysteresis loops and the giant magnetoresistance essentially depend on the relative magnitudes of magnetic parameters of the top and the bottom layers. New types of hysteresis loops are found for characteristic relative magnitudes of the parameters. Analysis of the dependence of the shape of hysteresis loops on the magnitude of interlayer exchange is performed. The phase diagram which determines the regions of existence of characteristic hysteresis loops for different relative magnitudes of the uniaxial anisotropy constant and exchange constant J₁ is constructed.     

Crystallization characteristics of a middle CoFeB layer in a double MgO barrier magnetic tunnel junction

The crystallization characteristics of a middle CoFeB free layer in a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) with double MgO barriers were investigated by tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) measurements of patterned cells across an 8-inch wafer. The MTJ structure was designed to have two CoFeB free layers and one bottom pinned layer, separated by MgO tunnel barriers. The observed resistance showed three types of TMR curves depending on the crystallization of the middle CoFeB layer. From the analysis of TMR curves, coherent crystallization of the middle CoFeB layer with the top and bottom MgO barriers was found to occur non-uniformly: About 80% of the MTJ cells in the wafer exhibited coherent crystallization of the middle CoFeB layers with the bottom MgO tunnel barrier, while others had coherent crystallization with the top MgO tunnel barrier or both barriers. This non-uniform crystallization of the middle CoFeB layer in a double MTJ was also clearly observed in tunneling electron microscopy images. Thus, control of the crystallization of the middle CoFeB layer is important for optimizing the MTJ with double MgO barriers, and especially for the fabrication of double barrier MTJ on a large area substrate.     

重离子辐照引起磁性隧道结功能失效类型及机理研究

重点研究了磁性隧道结(MTJ)的电学性能受离子注量影响的物理规律。实验首次发现了高能Ta离子辐射损伤导致MTJ电学功能失效的现象,主要失效模式为:高、低电阻态失效,其中79.9%的功能失效为高电阻态失效。计算表明,单个10.9 MeV/u的Ta离子辐照引入的损伤无法导致MTJ宏观电学功能失效。结合理论计算与Monte Carlo模拟分析,MTJ中的绝缘势垒层与铁磁薄膜的损伤是出现高、低电阻态失效的内因。     

Surface structure evolution during Sb adsorption on Si(1 1 1)–In(4×1) reconstruction

The Sb adsorption process on the Si(1 1 1)–In(4×1) surface phase was studied in the temperature range 200–400 °C. The formation of a Si(1 1 1)–InSb (2×2) structure was observed between 0.5 and 0.7 ML of Sb. This reconstruction decomposes when the Sb coverage approaches 1 ML and Sb atoms rearrange to and (2×1) reconstructions; released In atoms agglomerate into islands of irregular shapes. During the phase transition process from InSb(2×2) to Sb (θ_Sb>0.7 ML), we observed the formation of a metastable (4×2) structure. Possible atomic arrangements of the InSb(2×2) and metastable (4×2) phases were discussed.     

Total ionizing radiation-induced read bit-errors in toggle magnetoresistive random-access memory devices

The 1-Mb and 4-Mb commercial toggle magnetoresistive random-access memories(MRAMs) with 0.13 μm and 0.18-μm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor(CMOS) process respectively and different magnetic tunneling junctions(MTJs) are irradiated with a Cobalt-60 gamma source. The electrical functions of devices during the irradiation and the room temperature annealing behavior are measured. Electrical failures are observed until the dose accumulates to 120-krad(Si) in 4-Mb MRAM while the 1-Mb MRAM keeps normal. Thus, the 0.13-μm process circuit exhibits better radiation tolerance than the 0.18-μm process circuit. However, a small quantity of read bit-errors randomly occurs only in 1-Mb MRAM during the irradiation while their electrical function is normal. It indicates that the store states of MTJ may be influenced by gamma radiation, although the electrical transport and magnetic properties are inherently immune to the radiation. We propose that the magnetic Compton scattering in the interaction of gamma ray with magnetic free layer may be the origin of the read bit-errors. Our results are useful for MRAM toward space application.     

Tunneling magnetoresistance based on a Cr/graphene/Cr magnetotunnel junction

Using the density functional theory and the nonequilibrium Green's function method, we studied the finite-bias quantum transport in a Cr/graphene/Cr magnetotunnel junction(MTJ) constructed by a single graphene layer sandwiched between two semi-infinite Cr(111) electrodes. We found that the tunneling magnetoresistance(TMR) ratio in this MTJ reached108%, which is close to that of a perfect spin filter. Under an external positive bias, we found that the TMR ratio remained constant at 65%, in contrast to Mg O-based MTJs, the TMR ratios of which decrease with increasing bias. These results indicate that the Cr/graphene/Cr MTJ is a promising candidate for spintronics applications.     

Nonlinear spin current and magnetoresistance of molecular tunnel junctions

We report on a theoretical study of spin-polarized quantum transport through a Ni-bezenedithiol(BDT)-Ni molecular magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). Our study is based on carrying out density functional theory within the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function formalism, so that microscopic details of the molecular MTJ are taken into account from first principles. A magnetoresistance ratio of approximately 27% is found for the Ni-BDT-Ni MTJ which declines toward zero as bias voltage is increased. The spin currents are nonlinear functions of bias voltage, even changing sign at certain voltages due to specific features of the coupling between molecular states and magnetic leads.     

Strain-mediated magnetoelectric control of tunneling magnetoresistance in magnetic tunneling junction/ferroelectric hybrid structures

Because of the wide selectivity of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric (FE) components, electric-field (E-field) control of magnetism via strain mediation can be easily realized through composite multiferroic heterostructures. Here, an MgO-based magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is chosen rationally as the ferromagnetic constitution and a high-activity (001)-Pb(Mg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$)$_{0.7}$Ti$_{0.3}$O$_{3}$ (PMN-0.3PT) single crystal is selected as the FE component to create a multiferroic MTJ/FE hybrid structure. The shape of tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) versus in situ E-fields imprints the butterfly loop of the piezo-strain of the FE without magnetic-field bias. The E-field-controlled change in the TMR ratio is up to $-$0.27% without magnetic-field bias. Moreover, when a typical magnetic field ($\sim \pm 10$ Oe) is applied along the minor axis of the MTJ, the butterfly loop is changed significantly by the E-fields relative to that without magnetic-field bias. This suggests that the E-field-controlled junction resistance is spin-dependent and correlated with magnetization switching in the free layer of the MTJ. In addition, based on such a multiferroic heterostructure, a strain-gauge factor up to approximately 40 is achieved, which decreases further with a sign change from positive to negative with increasing magnetic fields. This multiferroic hybrid structure is a promising avenue to control TMR through E-fields in low-power-consumption spintronic and straintronic devices at room temperature.     

Investigation of the thickness of Ag, AgI films in the capillary for hollow waveguides

A metallic (Ag)–dielectric (AgI) hollow glass waveguide is a promising and flexible fiber for the delivery of high-power CO₂ laser radiation. The thickness of metallic (Ag) films and dielectric (AgI) films is a critical factor which greatly influences the attenuation of the waveguides. In this paper, metallic (Ag)–dielectric (AgI) films were successfully prepared in the capillary whose inner diameter is 0.53 mm, and firstly investigated with theoretical analysis and measured by means of AES and SEM. There is good agreement between theoretical thickness and experimental results, which confirms the validity of the theoretical analysis, which makes the estimate of the thickness of both the metallic and dielectric films possible with high accuracy prior to the preparation of hollow glass waveguides. The attenuation spectra of Ag/AgI hollow waveguides shows the loss increases with the thickness of Ag, AgI films and indicates that the Ag/AgI hollow waveguide is suitable for the transmission of IR radiation.