On the use of exchange biased top electrodes in magnetic tunnel junctions

We have investigated the magnetic behavior and the structural properties of ferromagnetic–antiferromagnetic systems (NiFe–IrMn and Co–IrMn) deposited directly on a thin tantalum buffer layer (bottom configuration) or above a thin Al₂O₃ tunnel barrier layer (top configuration). In the bottom configuration, the bilayer system exhibits higher magnetic performances than in the top configuration in terms of thermal stability. We have performed a detailed structural study by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy which allow us to establish a clear correlation between the situation of the bilayer with respect to the tunnel barrier, its texture and its magnetic properties.     

Temperature and set field dependence of exchange bias training effects in Co/NiO/[Co/Pt] heterostructures with orthogonal easy axes

Training effects in a new class of exchange biased ferromagnet/antiferromagnet/ferromagnet trilayers (Co/NiO/[Co/Pt]₃) with mutually orthogonal easy axes have been measured and successfully modeled. Previous experiments have demonstrated an enhanced blocking temperature as well as the ability to isothermally field tune the magnitude of the room temperature in-plane exchange bias. These effects have been attributed to the presence of the [Co/Pt] multilayer with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which variably pins the backside NiO domains. Here we show that the tuning of the exchange bias and the blocking temperature enhancement are highly dependent on both the temperature and the in-plane remanence of the normally out-of-plane [Co/Pt] multilayer, achieved using modest in-plane set fields. Training effects and their dependence on temperature and in-plane remanence are modeled using a thermodynamic approach. The in-plane remanence of the [Co/Pt] acts only to set the equilibrium exchange bias value and sets the scale for the blocking temperature; it has no effect on the training. We conclude that training effects occur only at the Co/NiO interface and that the relaxation towards equilibrium is confined to this interface. The field enhanced blocking temperature and isothermal tuning of exchange bias in these magnetic heterostructures with mutually orthogonal easy axes could play a role in the enhancement of exchange bias effects in future spin-valve devices. A thorough knowledge of the training effects is essential to account for the fundamental relaxation mechanisms that occur with repeated field cycling.     

Structural and magnetic properties of Co-C composite films and Co/C multilayer films

CoC composite films and Co/C multilayer films have been prepared by a method incorporating ion beam sputtering and plasma chemical vapor deposition. It has been found that the structure and magnetic properties of both the Co-C composite and the Co/C multilayer films depend strongly on the substrate temperature during deposition. The Co-C composite film deposited at room temperature is amorphous, with relatively low saturation magnetization and coercivity. On the other hand, the film deposited at 250 °C is composed of fine Co crystallites separated by amorphous C or Co-C phase. As a result, both the saturation magnetization and coercivity are increased compared with the film deposited at room temperature. When deposited at room temperature, the Co/C multilayer film exhibits good periodicity, with a period of 70 nm (Co: 40 nm, C: 30 nm) and sharp and flat Co-C interfaces. High magnetization (602 emu/cm³) and low coercivity (1.6 Oe) are obtained for such a film. However, increasing the substrate temperature to 250 °C was found to be detrimental to the magnetic properties due to the formation of cobalt carbide at the Co-C interface. Received: 11 July 2000 / Accepted: 13 July 2000 / Published online: 30 November 2000     

Tuning the coercive field of Ni and CuNi thin films with the embedding of Co nanoparticles: An element-specific study

Cobalt nanoparticles have been embedded either within magnetic thin films of CuNi or Ni, or at their interface with an Al capping layer. Soft X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) was used to measure element-specific hysteresis loops, allowing discrimination between the nanoparticles and the host film. The hysteresis shows coupling between the nanoparticles and the films and a reduction in coercivity is observed when positioning the nanoparticles within the film, as opposed to at its interface with the cap. Sum rule analysis of the XMCD spectra makes it possible to determine the orbital to spin moment ratios for Co and Ni in the samples. The difference in the calculated ratios is consistent with the differences in the coercivities, the films appearing more homogenous due to hybridization of the 3d bands of Co and Ni when the nanoparticles are embedded deeper within the films, creating less pinning sites and hence a lower coercivity.     

Synthesis of nanocrystalline YFeO3 and its magnetic properties

Single phase nanocrystalline YFeO₃ has been synthesized by a simple solution method. The average particle diameter is 42.2 nm. The particles exhibit ferromagnetic behaviour in the temperature range 10-300 K with a coercivity of 23 kOe. The magnetization versus temperature over the temperature range 2-300 K obeys Bloch equation with a Bloch constant value 9.98×10⁻⁶ K^−3/2. Ferromagnetic hysteresis loops have been observed up to a temperature of 300 K. At 10 K a field-cooled sample shows an exchange bias field.     

Microstructural and magnetic characteristics of IrMn exchange-biased tunnel junctions

Tunneling magnetoresistance values above 20% and 40% were obtained for as-deposited and annealed tunnel junctions, Ta/NiFe/Cu/NiFe/IrMn/CoFe/Al-oxide/CoFe/NiFe/Ta, respectively. Exchange biasing field increased from 270 to 550 Oe after annealing resulting from sharpening of the IrMn/CoFe interface. dV/dI vs. V curves showed asymmetric profiles, which were due to asymmetry of the CoFe/Al-oxide interfaces and difference in microstructure of the CoFe layers.     

Zero-field cooled exchange bias and magnetization reversal in La1.5Sr0.5Co0.4Fe0.6MnO6

The polycrystalline sample La_1.5Sr_0.5Co_0.4Fe_0.6MnO₆ (LSCFMO) was prepared by sol-gel method and its magnetic properties were studied. The interesting magnetization reversal phenomenon and the zero-field cooled exchange bias (ZEB) effect were simultaneously observed in LSCFMO. ZEB effect can exist in a wider temperature range (0–200 K) compared with La_1.5Sr_0.5CoMnO₆ (0–10 K), which is very important in the potential applications. A schematic diagram based on the coupling between the Fe³⁺ spins, Mn³⁺ spins and Co²⁺ or Co³⁺ spins is used to understand the ZEB and the reversal behaviors. Due to the doping of 60% Fe ion, the magnetic microstructure of LSCMFO is more complex than that of LSCMO, resulting in the meta-stable spin structure and more interesting magnetic phenomenon.     

Magnetic properties of Co nanoparticle granular films capped with Pt

Magnetization and susceptibility measurements have been performed on Co granular (Al₂O₃/Co/Pt)₂₅ multilayers. A cusp-like anomaly is present in the susceptibility, which together with magnetization measurements suggests that the samples behave as an amorphous Correlated-Super-Spin system. The presence of CoPt partial alloying is proven by the XANES spectra. The XMCD spectra show that the interfacial Pt atoms become magnetically polarized by hybridization of the Pt 5d and Co 3d electrons, and are ferromagnetically coupled to the Co particle moments. The Pt layer is effective in transmitting interparticle exchange coupling.     

In-plane magnetic pattern separation in NiFe/NiO and Co/NiO exchange biased bilayers investigated by magnetic force microscopy

Ion bombardment induced magnetic patterning (IBMP) was used to write in-plane magnetized micro and submicron patterns in exchange biased magnetic bilayers, where the magnetization directions of the adjacent patterns are antiparallel to each other in remanence. These magnetic patterns were investigated by non-contact magnetic force microscopy (MFM). It is shown that the recorded MFM images of the IBMP patterns in two exemplarily chosen standard layer systems (NiFe (4.8 nm)/NiO (68 nm) and Co (4.8 nm)/NiO (68 nm)) can be well described by a model within the point-dipole approximation for the tip magnetization. For 5 and 0.9 μm wide bar patterns the domain wall widths between adjacent magnetically patterned areas were determined to a≈1 μm. The minimum magnetically stable pattern width was estimated to be 0.7 μm in the standard system Co (4.8 nm)/NiO (68 nm).     

Time-resolved studies of single quantum dots in magnetic fields

We present time-resolved and time-integrated spectroscopy of single InAs quantum dots grown in a GaAs matrix. We observe a number of interesting features in the spectra, including the zero field splitting of exciton and biexciton lines due to quantum dot asymmetry. By the application of an in-plane magnetic field, the normally optically active and inactive exciton states become mixed, enabling us to optically probe the normally inaccessible ‘dark’ states. Time resolved measurements on the mixed states show decay times several times longer than the exciton lifetime at zero field, which we show to be consistent with a dark exciton lifetime orders of magnitude longer than that for bright exciton.     

Influence of organic precursor on the structural and magnetic properties of Co3O4 nanoparticles

Antiferromagnetic Co₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized by the coprecipitation method. With the addition of the sucrose as chelating agent (sucrose) the size of the particles was reduced from 54 nm to 19 nm. The Co₃O₄ nanoparticles exhibit a cubic spinel structure identified for X-ray diffraction (XRD) and confirmed by Rietveld refinement. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images exhibit a spherical-like morphology and confirm the decrease of the particle size observed by XRD. The magnetic measurements as a function of temperature using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) show a large surface anisotropy for samples obtained with the addition of sucrose accompanied by an exchange Bias effect indicating also the existence of a weak ferromagnetism. A decrease of the Néel temperature from the bulk (and other nanostructures-type) was observed, which can be associated with finite-size effect in the nanoparticles' shape.     

Signatures of spin-glass freezing in Co/CoO nanospheres and nanodiscs

We present a study of the magnetic properties of Co nanoparticles having a combination of both spherical and disk shapes. The hcp Co nanospheres with an average diameter of 11 nm and nanodiscs of dimensions ∼2.5×15 nm² were prepared by thermal decomposition of di-cobalt octacarbonyl in the presence of an amine surfactant. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were oxidized to grow an antiferromagnetic layer. High resolution transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of a ferromagnet/antiferromagnet (Co/CoO) interface with a 2.2-nm thick CoO shell on the spherical nanoparticles and 0.5 nm thick on nanodiscs. We report the temperature and field dependent DC magnetization, frequency, field, and temperature dependent AC susceptibility, and the radio frequency transverse susceptibility. A low temperature paramagnetic behavior was observed in the DC magnetization at high fields and is assigned to defects in the CoO shell that are not coupled to the antiferromagnetic lattice. Our results support the existence of a low temperature frozen, disordered magnetic state, characterized by a strong exchange coupling between the structurally disordered, spin-glass CoO shell and Co core.     

Hard magnetic properties of sputtered Co and Co-P films

Both magnetic properties and microstructure of sputtered Co and Co-4.8 wt% P films ( ≈ 3000 Å) deposited near room temperature are studied as a function of Ar pressure P_Ar ranging from 4×10^-3 to 1.4×10^-1 Torr. The coercive force H_c of the film is a strong function of P_Ar. The coercive force of Co increases from 25 to 270 Oe with increasing P_Ar. With an addition of phosphorus in Co, H_c increases substantially. At high P_Ar ( ≈ 1×10^-1 Torr), a high H_c of 700 Oe and a low squareness of 0.58 are obtained. From observation of the microstructure, it is concluded that the structure of columns is responsible for the high H_c and the low squareness.     

Phase detection and contrast loss in magnetic resonance imaging

Several recent articles have assessed the relative efficiency of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) pulse sequences. One consideration that has received little attention is the effect on image contrast of displaying images without information on the sign of the reconstructed signals. The radiofrequency receivers currently used on most NMR imaging systems are quadrature detectors that preserve both the magnitude and sign of the NMR signal. Usually, however, sign or phase information is not used in the final image presentation. We point out that in imaging sequences that may have negative signals, such as inversion recovery, this loss of sign information produces a reduction in contrast between some tissues in an NMR image. We discuss the tissue parameters and interpulse delay times that result in contrast loss in inversion recovery and indicate the extent of contrast loss. We point out that for some tissues with unequal hydrogen spin densities, the region of contrast loss coincides with the region where maximum contrast would occur if sign information were preserved.     

Structure and magnetic properties of FeCoN films

We obtained crystals of RuS₂ doped with ⁵⁷Fe from a Bi melt and determined the EPR hyperfine structure corresponding to ⁵⁷Fe³⁺ in low-spin configuration. In crystals that were doped with both Fe and Cr an increase of the Fe³⁺ resonance and a simultaneous decrease of the Cr³⁺ resonance occurred by IR irradiation and revealed the same wavelength dependence. Compared with as-grown crystals the iron-doped crystals turned out to have a rather high electrical resistivity of about 10⁴Omega cm at room temperature. For these iron-doped crystals two different activation energies of 0.04 eV and 0.35 eV of the free charge carriers (electrons) were determined from measurements of the electrical conductivity in the range of 94 K and 294 K. Received: 29 July 1996/Accepted: 13 November 1996     

Comparison of agarose and cross-linked protein gels as magnetic resonance imaging phantoms

Measurements of the magnetic field dependence of spin-lattice relaxation rates and the response of the water-proton signal intensity to off-resonance radio frequency fields show that the commonly used agarose phantom provides a less faithful representation for the magnetic response of tissue than does a cross-linked protein system. The origin of these differences lies in the structure and intramolecular dynamics of the macromolecular system used to make the gel. These distinctions will also cause differences in the magnetic response of the water spin system when paramagnetic relaxation agents or contrast agents are incorporated. Use of a thermally cross-linked bovine serum albumin phantom is suggested.     

Soft magnetic properties of FeCo films with Co underlayer

Bilayered Fe₆₅Co₃₅ (=FeCo)/Co films were prepared by facing targets sputtering with 4πM_s∼24 kg. The soft magnetic properties of FeCo films were induced by a Co underlayer. H_c decreased rapidly when the Co underlayer was 2 nm or more. The films showed well-defined in-plane uniaxial anisotropy with the typical values of H_ce=10 Oe and H_ch=3 Oe, respectively. High frequency characteristics of the films show the films can work at 0.8 GHz with real permeability as high as 250.     

A Monte Carlo and continuum study of mechanical properties of nanoparticle based films

A combination Monte Carlo and equivalent-continuum simulation approach was used to investigate the structure-mechanical property relationships of titania nanoparticle deposits. Films of titania composed of nanoparticle aggregates were simulated using a Monte Carlo approach with diffusion-limited aggregation. Each aggregate in the simulation is fractal-like and random in structure. In the film structure, it is assumed that bond strength is a function of distance with two limiting values for the bond strengths: one representing the strong chemical bond between the particles at closest proximity in the aggregate and the other representing the weak van der Waals bond between particles from different aggregates. The Young’s modulus of the film is estimated using an equivalent-continuum modeling approach, and the influences of particle diameter (5–100 nm) and aggregate size (3–400 particles per aggregate) on predicted Young’s modulus are investigated. The Young’s modulus is observed to increase with a decrease in primary particle size and is independent of the size of the aggregates deposited. Decreasing porosity resulted in an increase in Young’s modulus as expected from results reported previously in the literature.     

An assessment of the safety of rapidly changing magnetic fields in the rabbit: Implications for NMR imaging

The effects of rapidly changing magnetic fields on the cardiac and respiratory functions of anaesthetised rabbits have been investigated. No changes were observed using pulsed fields with peak rates of change of 60 T/sec. The implications of these experiments for the safety of NMR imaging are discussed.