ALD for Data Storage Applications

Abstract

A variety of ALD applications were explored for manufacturing magnetic recording heads, concentrating on AlO x . ALD AlO x films were prepared in a broad thickness range from 5 to 4500 Å at temperatures from 80 to 300 °C and at a maximum growth rate of ~120 Å/min to meet the specific needs for various read and write head related processes. ALD has shown great potential to become an indispensable part of integrated magnetic recording head manufacturing.

2D-MTJs: introducing 2D materials in magnetic tunnel junctions

“…While the ALD of Al 2 O 3 is known to be an oxidative process-usually dubbed as incompatible with spintronic devices [56,57]-here the graphene was used as protection, to avoid the oxidation of the FM surface. This in turn protected the spintronics properties of the device, as demonstrated by the measurement of the large spin signals.…”

ALD Applications Beyond Outside IC Technology - Existing and Emerging Possibilities

“…An additional benefit of ALD is the high quality of ultra-thin insulating layers with low pinhole density [17,18]. ALD Al 2 O3 has been used in the read heads already for several years, and ALD thin films and nanolaminates are investigated also for other applications in the read/write head process flow, like trench filling, tunneling barrier and encapsulation.…”

“…Smaller critical dimensions and more challenging topographies of the magnetic recording heads have led to a need to replace conventional PVD coating technology with more conformal coating method. An additional benefit of ALD is the high quality of ultra-thin insulating layers with low pinhole density [17,18]. ALD Al 2 O3 has been used in the read heads already for several years, and ALD thin films and nanolaminates are investigated also for other applications in the read/write head process flow, like trench filling, tunneling barrier and encapsulation.…”

Recent Progress of Atomic Layer Technology in Spintronics: Mechanism, Materials and Prospects

“…However, for the field of MTJ in spintronics, the advantages of ALD are still not widely used. The fabrication of MTJ mostly relies on relatively complex physical deposition, although there have been some pioneering attempts [89][90][91]. A key reason is that in the process of ALD, the metallic spin sources will be oxidized, resulting in a decline in spintronic performance.…”