New Type of Magnetic Tunnel Junction Based on Spin Filtering through a Reduced Symmetry Oxide: FeCo|Mg3B2O6|FeCo

Abstract

Magnetic tunnel junctions with high-tunneling magnetoresistance values such as Fe|MgO|Fe capitalize on spin filtering in the oxide region based on the band symmetry of incident electrons. However, these structures rely on magnetic leads and oxide regions of the same cubic symmetry class. A new magnetic tunnel junction (FeCo|Mg(3)B(2)O(6)|FeCo) is presented that uses a reduced symmetry oxide region (orthorhombic) to provide spin filtering between the two cubic magnetic leads. Complex band structure analysis of Mg(3)B(2)O(6) based on density functional calculations shows that significant spin filtering could occur in this system. This new type of magnetic tunnel junction may have been fabricated already and can explain recent experimental studies of rf-sputtered FeCoB|MgO|FeCoB junctions where there is significant B diffusion into the MgO region.