Room temperature La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 magnetoresistive prototype memory element

Abstract

Highly (110) textured La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 polycrystalline film strips in conjunction with a small interacting bias magnet have been used to construct a prototype room temperature memory element. The film strips were made by high laser pulse energy pulsed laser deposition such that the temperature of the resistance maximum was elevated to room temperature. Consequently room temperature operation did not require any temperature compensation. The magnetoresistance of such film strips exhibited highly anisotropic low field magnetoresistance with the largest response for applied fields in plane and parallel to the current direction. Perpendicular to the plane applied fields produced no response in the low field region. A simple bridge was configured in which the sensing element was a 100-μm-wide manganite strip made to exhibit a broad resistance maximum at room temperature. The memory element magnetoresistive response for field excursions approaching the intrinsic coercivity of the bias magnet exhibited two distinct zero applied field resistance values. Parallel versus antiparallel field excursions to 60 mT produced zero applied magnetic field voltage states separated by 18 mV at room temperature in a geometry investigated.