Nonvolatile Magnetoelectric Switching of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions with Dipole Interaction

Abstract

The magnetoelectric effect is technologically appealing because of its ability to manipulate magnetism using an electric field rather than magnetic field or current, thus providing a promising solution for the development of energy‐efficient spintronics. Although 180° magnetization switching is vital to spintronic devices, the achievement of 180° magnetization switching via magnetoelectric coupling is still a fundamental challenge. Herein, voltage‐driven full resistance switching of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) with dipole interaction on a ferroelectric substrate through switchable parallel/antiparallel magnetization alignment is demonstrated. Parallel magnetization alignment along the y direction is obtained under a bias magnetic field. By rotating the magnetic easy axis via strain‐mediated magnetoelectric coupling, the parallel magnetizations in the MTJ reorient to the x axis with opposite paths because of dipole interaction, thus resulting in antiparallel alignment. Moreover, this voltage switching of MTJs is nonvolatile owing to variations in dipole interaction and can be well understood via phase field simulations. The results provide an avenue to realize electrical switching of MTJs and are significant for exploring energy‐efficient spintronic devices.

Electric field control of 180° magnetization reversal in a spin-valve multiferroic heterostructure

“…The E-field-modulated MR effect in SV/FE multiferroic heterostructures are limited [21][22][23], as large as a half or less of the MR ratio that obtained by a magnetic field or spin current under normal conditions. Thus, several researches have been proposed to achieve 180°magnetization switching with the assistance of a magnetic field, the uniaxial anisotropy or magnetic shape anisotropy of a nanomagnet [24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. By adopting special structure such as E-field control of exchange bias [31,32], and two strain fields [33], the 180°magnetization switching can be obtained.…”

A Magnetoelastic Twist on Magnetic Noise: The Connection with Intrinsic Nonlinearities

“…Here, we provide evidence for the existence of an additional magnetic noise mechanism related to the inherent magnetostriction of the applied ferromagnetic materials. The additional noise mechanism becomes particularly important when dealing with magnetostrictive devices: [62,63] such as actuators, [64] antennas, [26,65,66] data storage elements, [67,68] pressure sensors, [69][70][71] and magnetic field sensors. [53,[72][73][74] Magnetic noise theory is applied to describe ΔE-effect sensors as an example of modulated magnetoelastic magnetic field sensors.…”