Tunnel magnetoresistance effect in magnetic tunnel junctions using Fermi-level-tuned epitaxial Fe2Cr1−xCoxSi Heusler alloy

Abstract

This paper reports a systematic investigation on the structural and magnetic properties of Fe2Cr1−xCoxSi Heusler alloys with various compositions of x by co-sputtering Fe2CrSi and Fe2CoSi targets and their applications in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). Fe2Cr1−xCoxSi films of high crystalline quality have been epitaxially grown on MgO substrate using Cr as a buffer layer. The L21 phase can be obtained at x = 0.3 and 0.5, while B2 phase for the rest compositions. A tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio of 19.3% at room temperature is achieved for MTJs using Fe2Cr0.3Co0.7Si as the bottom electrode with 350 °C post-annealing. This suggests that the Fermi level in Fe2Cr1−xCoxSi has been successfully tuned close to the center of band gap of minority spin with x = 0.7 and therefore better thermal stability and higher spin polarization are achieved in Fe2Cr0.3Co0.7Si. The post-annealing effect for MTJs is also studied in details. The removal of the oxidized Fe2Cr0.3Co0.7Si at the interface with MgO barrier is found to be the key to improve the TMR ratio. When the thickness of the inserted Mg layer increases from 0.3 to 0.4 nm, the TMR ratio is greatly enhanced from 19.3% to 28%.