Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions based on MgO/CoFeB structures are of particular interest for magnetic random-access memories because of their excellent thermal stability, scaling potential, and power dissipation. However, the major challenge of current-induced switching in the nanopillars with both a large tunnel magnetoresistance ratio and a low junction resistance is still to be met. Here, we report spin transfer torque switching in nano-scale perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with a magnetoresistance ratio up to 249% and a resistance area product as low as 7.0 Ω µm2, which consists of atom-thick W layers and double MgO/CoFeB interfaces. The efficient resonant tunnelling transmission induced by the atom-thick W layers could contribute to the larger magnetoresistance ratio than conventional structures with Ta layers, in addition to the robustness of W layers against high-temperature diffusion during annealing. The critical switching current density could be lower than 3.0 MA cm−2 for devices with a 45-nm radius.

Spin-transfer-torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM) attracts extensive attentions due to its non-volatility, high density and low power consumption. The core device in STT-MRAM is CoFeB/MgO-based magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), which possesses a high tunnel magnetoresistance ratio as well as a large value of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). It has been experimentally proven that a capping layer coating on CoFeB layer is essential to obtain a strong PMA. However, the physical mechanism of such effect remains unclear. In this paper, we investigate the origin of the PMA in MgO/CoFe/metallic capping layer structures by using a first-principles computation scheme. The trend of PMA variation with different capping materials agrees well with experimental results. We find that interfacial PMA in the three-layer structures comes from both the MgO/CoFe and CoFe/capping layer interfaces, which can be analyzed separately. Furthermore, the PMAs in the CoFe/capping layer interfaces are analyzed through resolving the magnetic anisotropy energy by layer and orbital. The variation of PMA with different capping materials is attributed to the different hybridizations of both d and p orbitals via spin-orbit coupling. This work can significantly benefit the research and development of nanoscale STT-MRAM.

The electrical manipulation of magnetization and exchange bias in antiferromagnet/ferromagnet thin films could be of use in the development of the next generation of spintronic devices. Currentcontrolled magnetization switching can be driven by spin-orbit torques generated in an adjacent heavy metal layer, but these structures are difficult to integrate with exchange bias switching and tunnelling magnetoresistance measurements. Here, we report the current-induced switching of exchange bias field in a perpendicularly magnetized IrMn/CoFeB bilayer structure using a spinorbit torque generated in the antiferromagnet IrMn layer. By manipulating the current direction and amplitude, independent and repeatable switching of the magnetization and exchange bias field below the blocking temperature can be achieved. The critical current density for the exchange bias switching is found to be larger than that for CoFeB magnetization reversal. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, polarized neutron reflectometry measurements and micromagnetic simulations show that a small net magnetization within the IrMn interface plays a crucial role in these phenomena.2 Electrical manipulation of the magnetization and exchange bias in antiferromagnet (AFM)/ferromagnet (FM) heterostructures 1-10 is expected to be of use in several high-performance spintronic devices, including magnetic tunnel junctions and magnetoresistance sensors. An efficient method for electrical switching of the FM magnetization is to use the spin-orbit torque (SOT) generated from a heavy metal (such as W, Ta, Pt) layer in AFM/FM/heavy metal structures 4,5,[11][12][13][14] .The in-plane exchange field generated at the AFM/FM interface enables field-free switching of the perpendicular magnetization and, compared to spin-transfer torque (STT)-driven devices, SOTdriven systems can potentially offer decreased switching times and thus faster data writing 15 .However, manipulation of the exchange bias is usually achieved by field cooling, which requires an external magnetic field and high temperature, hindering its application in practical devices 1,16,17 .Alternatively, it has recently been demonstrated that the exchange bias field at the AFM/FM interface can be switched by the SOT generated in the Pt layer in a Pt/Co/IrMn structure, passing through the thin Co layer 6 . Strong SOTs can also be generated in certain AFM thin films (such as IrMn and PtMn) due to their giant spin Hall angle [18][19][20][21][22] , allowing simpler spintronic devices to be created [23][24][25] . For example, field-free switching of perpendicular magnetization has been achieved in PtMn/[Co/Ni]n structures where no heavy metal layer is required, with both the in-plane exchange bias and SOT originating from the AFM/FM system 23 . An advantage of using an AFM/FM/oxide stack is that it is easier, compared to AFM/FM/heavy metal structures, to integrate tunnelling magnetoresistance (for electrical reading of FM magnetization 26,27 ), SOT and exchange bias switching in a single device.In this Article, we repo...

The interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in ferromagnetic/heavy metal ultra-thin film structures has attracted a lot of attention thanks to its capability to stabilize Néel-type domain walls (DWs) and magnetic skyrmions for the realization of non-volatile memory and logic devices. In this study, we demonstrate that magnetic properties in perpendicularly magnetized Ta/Pt/Co/MgO/Pt heterostructures, such as magnetization and DMI, can be significantly influenced by the MgO thickness. To avoid the excessive oxidation of Co, an ultrathin Mg layer is inserted to improve the quality of the Co-MgO interface. By using field-driven domain wall expansion in the creep regime, we find that non-monotonic tendencies of the DMI field appear when changing the thickness of MgO. With the insertion of a monatomic Mg layer, the strength of the DMI could reach a high level and saturate. We conjecture that the efficient control of the DMI is a result of subtle changes of both Pt/Co and Co/MgO interfaces, which provides a method to optimize the design of ultra-thin structures achieving skyrmion electronics.

Artificial synaptic devices implemented by emerging post-CMOS non-volatile memory technologies such as Resistive RAM (RRAM) have made great progress recently. However, it is still a big challenge to fabricate stable and controllable multilevel RRAM. Benefitting from the control of electron spin instead of electron charge, spintronic devices, e.g., magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) as a binary device, have been explored for neuromorphic computing with low power dissipation. In this paper, a compound spintronic device consisting of multiple vertically stacked MTJs is proposed to jointly behave as a synaptic device, termed as compound spintronic synapse (CSS). Based on our theoretical and experimental work, it has been demonstrated that the proposed compound spintronic device can achieve designable and stable multiple resistance states by interfacial and materials engineering of its components. Additionally, a compound spintronic neuron (CSN) circuit based on the proposed compound spintronic device is presented, enabling a multi-step transfer function. Then, an All Spin Artificial Neural Network (ASANN) is constructed with the CSS and CSN circuit. By conducting system-level simulations on the MNIST database for handwritten digital recognition, the performance of such ASANN has been investigated. Moreover, the impact of the resolution of both the CSS and CSN and device variation on the system performance are discussed in this work.

Magnetic tunnel junction nanopillar with interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA-MTJ) becomes a promising candidate to build up spin transfer torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM) for the next generation of non-volatile memory as it features low spin transfer switching current, fast speed, high scalability, and easy integration into conventional complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits. However, this device suffers from a number of failure issues, such as large process variation and tunneling barrier breakdown. The large process variation is an intrinsic issue for PMA-MTJ as it is based on the interfacial effects between ultra-thin films with few layers of atoms; the tunneling barrier breakdown is due to the requirement of an ultra-thin tunneling barrier (e.g., <1 nm) to reduce the resistance area for the spin transfer torque switching in the nanopillar. These failure issues limit the research and development of STT-MRAM to widely achieve commercial products. In this paper, we give a full analysis of failure mechanisms for PMA-MTJ and present some eventual solutions from device fabrication to system level integration to optimize the failure issues.

Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) based on CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB structures is of great interest due to its application in the spin-transfer-torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM). Large interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is required to achieve high thermal stability. Here we use first-principles calculations to investigate the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) of MgO/CoFe/capping layer structures, where the capping materials include 5d metals Hf, Ta, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au and 6p metals Tl, Pb, Bi. We demonstrate that it is feasible to enhance PMA by using proper capping materials. Relatively large PMA is found in the structures with capping materials of Hf, Ta, Os, Ir and Pb. More importantly, the MgO/CoFe/Bi structure gives rise to giant PMA (6.09 mJ/m 2 ), which is about three times larger than that of the MgO/CoFe/Ta structure. The origin of the MAE is elucidated by examining the contributions to MAE from each atomic layer and orbital. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the PMA and point towards the possibility to achieve advanced-node STT-MRAM with high thermal stability.

Spintronic devices such as magnetic tunnel junctions and skyrmions have attracted considerable attention due to features such as nonvolatility, high scalability, low power, and high speed. Over the past few years, innovative materials and new structures in this field have resulted in the emergence of new phenomena and exciting device performance. It has been found that the heavy metal (HM)/ferromagnetic metal (FM) interface plays an essential role in spintronic devices. Spintronic device performance can be significantly enhanced through proper modulation of this interface. Recent progress in this blooming field is reviewed with specific emphasis on the HM/FM interface. Investigations into HM/FM-interface-related phenomena, including perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, tunnel magnetoresistance, magnetic damping, spin-orbit torque, and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, are put into context. Guidelines for realizing high-performance spintronic devices are provided, and an outlook on their future research direction and potential applications is given.