Interfacial effects on magnetostriction of CoFeB∕AlOx∕Co junction

Abstract

Saturation magnetostriction (λs) of CoFeB∕AlOx∕Co magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) has been measured. There are three kinds of MTJs in this study, i.e., glass∕CoFeB(tA)∕AlOx(δto)∕Co(tB) with tA+tB=150Å; tA=100, 75, and 50Å; and δto=0–30Å. When plotting λs as a function of δto, the curve is concave up. We also investigated the compositional distribution of Fe, Al, and O across the tunneling part of the CoFeB(75Å)∕AlOx∕Co(75Å) junction. Based on these results, we propose a model to describe how the total λs is affected by the CoFeB∕AlOx and AlOx∕Co interfaces.

Effect of grain size on magnetic and nanomechanical properties of Co60Fe20B20 thin films

“…Recently, magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) have been of particular interest for use in magnetoresistance random access memory (MRAM), read head, and gauge sensor applications [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Magnetic CoFeB, Co, or NiFe thin film can be inserted as a free and/or pinned layer into the MTJ device, as it has a high spin tunneling efficiency and its spin-valve structure exhibits ferromagnetism (FM)/antiferromagnetism (AFM) exchange-biasing anisotropy [7][8][9][10].…”

The structural, magnetic and nanomechanical properties of hexagonal Co thin films

“…The magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) is an important issue in the nonvolatile magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), magnetic read head, and sensor industries because it has a high tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio at room temperature [1][2][3][4][5]. The MTJ is a sandwiched structure consisting of top ferromagnetic (FM), tunneling, and bottom ferromagnetic layers.…”

Effect of field-annealing on magnetostriction and tunneling magnetoresistance of Co/AlOx/Co/IrMn junctions

“…than that of the RT MTJ, because field-annealing treatment leads to inter-diffusion in the MTJ. Additionally, the s value of an MTJ junction can be controlled in two ways [10]. First, the s of an MTJ can be macro-turned by adjusting the thickness of the two ferromagnetic Co electrodes.…”

“…The signal is disturbed according to large s when the device is in the process of reading/writing. Recently, s and TMR of the AlO x -based MTJ have been studied [8][9][10][11], but much remains to be explored. Chen et al found that the maximum TMR and minimum s were 36% and −15 ppm, respectively, in a Co/AlO x /Co/IrMn junction at RT [11].…”