Perpendicular Magnetic Tunnel Junctions Research Articles

Field-free reliable magnetization switching in a three-terminal perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction via spin-orbit torque, spin-transfer torque, and voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy

Magnetic field-free switching of a three-terminal perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction driven by spin-orbit torque (SOT) and spin-transfer torque (STT) in the presence of a voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) effect was investigated using micromagnetic simulation at 300 K. The VCMA effect assists or hinders magnetization switching depending on the polarity of the applied voltage. Thus, the impact of these effects on switching probabilities was evaluated using two write voltage pulses (V SOT, V STT). By optimizing the configuration of these voltage pulses, we demonstrated 100 successful switchings out of 100 trials within 3.2 ns under a limit voltage of 1.0 V. In addition, the write power consumption for SOT-STT writing with optimal pulse configurations was found to be one order of magnitude lower than that of STT-alone writing. We also found that the SOT-STT writing has the great potential in practical use compared with the external magnetic field assisted SOT-writing. Field-free, reliable, and deterministic SOT-STT switching with low power consumption offers significant advantages for embedded memory applications.

Picosecond optospintronic tunnel junctions

Significance Spintronic devices have become promising candidates for next-generation memory architecture. However, state-of-the-art devices, such as perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), are still fundamentally constrained by a subnanosecond speed limitation, which has remained a long-lasting scientific obstacle in the ultrafast spintronics field. The highlight of our work is the demonstration of an optospintronic tunnel junction, an all-optical MTJ device which emerges as a new category of integrated photonic–spintronic memory. We demonstrate 1) laser-induced deterministic and efficient writing by an all-optical approach and electrical readout by tunnel magnetoresistance, 2) writing speed within 10 ps, demonstrated by femtosecond-resolved measurements, and 3) integration with state-of-the-art MTJ performance and a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor-compatible fabrication progress.

Modeling for Improved Performance of Ultra-Fast Nonvolatile Toggle Spin Torque MRAM Bit-Cell

In the recent past, exploiting nonvolatile memory devices to facilitate in-memory computation benchmarks has demonstrated a considerable capability to address the von-Neumann drawbacks. This process resulted in a tremendous effort towards spintronics memory development. Due to the voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) effect, the toggle magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) exhibits faster switching and lower power consumption than spin-transfer torque (STT) MRAM. We assessed read/write access time, magnetized time and anisotropic field for crystalline perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (CPMTJ) with detailed material study and device parameters in this work. These junctions are affected by the VCMA effect. Various VCMA parameters, including the VCMA coefficient, the time constant and antiparallel (AP) resistance on the saturated magnetization, are measured via the memory cell’s SPICE modeling. The Rashba spin–orbit interaction (SOI) and spin-valve model are developed by MATLAB scripting for evaluating a Rashba and Hamiltonian vector field. The toggle spin torque (TST) in the TST-MRAM cell is generated due to the interconnection between STT and spin–orbit torque (SOT) mechanisms. The TST-MRAM cell’s benefits are energy efficiency, large TMR ratio and superfast read and write operation. This work’s novel part is that the Hamiltonian field can control the net magnetization factor by the Rashba SOI effect. We end this paper with the performance enhancement techniques of MRAM cells due to VCMA and Rashba SOI effect.

Quantum Phase Transition in the Spin Transport Properties of Ferromagnetic Metal-Insulator-Metal Hybrid Materials.

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions provide a technologically important design platform for studying metal-insulator-metal heterostructure materials. Accurate characterization of the sensitivity of their electronic structure to proximity coupling effects based on first-principles calculations is key in the fundamental understanding of their emergent collective properties at macroscopic scales. Here, we use an effective field theory that combines ab initio calculations of the electronic structure within density functional theory with the plane waves calculation of the spin polarised conductance to gain insights into the proximity effect induced magnetoelectric couplings that arise in the transport of spin angular momentum when a monolayer tunnel barrier material is integrated into the magnetic tunnel junction. We find that the spin density of states exhibits a discontinuous change from half-metallic to the metallic character in the presence of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride when the applied electric field reaches a critical amplitude, and this signals a first order transition in the transport phase. This unravels an electric-field induced quantum phase transition in the presence of a monolayer hexagonal boron nitride tunnel barrier quite unlike molybdenum disulphide. The role of the applied electric field in the observed phase transition is understood in terms of the induced spin-flip transition and the charge transfer at the constituent interfaces. The results of this study show that the choice of the tunnel barrier layer material plays a nontrivial role in determining the magnetoelectric couplings during spin tunnelling under external field bias.

Field-Free Deterministic Writing of Spin-Orbit Torque Magnetic Tunneling Junction by Unipolar Current

We propose a field-free magnetic switching method in a perpendicular spin-orbit torque magnetic tunneling junction on a 200 mm wafer. The field-free switching can be achieved by unipolar current pulses via engineering the interlayer exchange coupling in the thin ferromagnetic films. The proposed device can reach a high writing speed of up to 1 ns and work properly at temperature of 100°C. This novel unipolar switching scheme offers an alternative writing approach for spin-orbit torque magnetic random access memory.

Enhancement of voltage controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) through electron depletion

Recent advancement in the switching of perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with an electric field has been a milestone for realizing ultra-low energy memory and computing devices. To integrate with current spin-transfer torque-magnetic tunnel junction and spin–orbit torque-magnetic tunnel junction devices, the typical linear fJ/V m range voltage controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) needs to be significantly enhanced with approaches that include new materials or stack engineering. A possible bidirectional and 1.1 pJ/V m VCMA effect has been predicted by using heavily electron-depleted Fe/MgO interfaces. To improve upon existing VCMA technology, we have proposed inserting high work function materials underneath the magnetic layer. This will deplete electrons from the magnetic layer biasing the gating window into the electron-depleted regime, where the pJ/V m and bidirectional VCMA effect was predicted. We have demonstrated tunable control of the Ta/Pd(x)/Ta underlayer's work function. By varying the Pd thickness (x) from 0 to 10 nm, we have observed a tunable change in the Ta layer's work function from 4.32 to 4.90 eV. To investigate the extent of the electron depletion as a function of the Pd thickness in the underlayer, we have performed DFT calculations on supercells of Ta/Pd(x)/Ta/CoFe/MgO, which demonstrate that electron depletion will not be fully screened at the CoFe/MgO interface. Gated pillar devices with Hall cross geometries were fabricated and tested to extract the anisotropy change as a function of applied gate voltage for samples with various Pd thicknesses. The electron-depleted Pd samples show three to six times VCMA improvement compared to the electron accumulated Ta control sample.

Seebeck effect and Joule heating in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB-based perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with low resistance area product

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (p-MTJs) have attracted great interest due to their excellent performance in spin-transfer-torque magnetic random access memories (STT-MRAMs). Here, the resistance states can be manipulated by an applied current in the order of 109–1010 A m−2, yet the appearance of a heating influence must be understood. In this work, we systematically study the Seebeck effect in nano scale p-MTJs induced due to Joule heating by the tunneling current. The CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB-based p-MTJs were nanofabricated and the current-induced switching was characterized. We find a sign change of the thermovoltage (ΔV) between AP (positive) and P (negative) states, indicating a significant dependence of the Seebeck effect on the magnetic state of the p-MTJ. The temperature distribution in the stack was simulated, by which the Seebeck coefficient (S) and the tunnel magneto-Seebeck ratio were calculated. Our further study indicates that the thermal STT can reduce the switching currents, showing the possibility to re-use this dissipative heating energy. To improve the efficiency of the energy re-use, a method is proposed through the materials optimization of the non-magnetic layers but still retaining high tunneling magnetoresistance effect. Our study shows that the magneto-Seebeck effect plays an important role in the p-MTJs, which can be crucial and must be considered in the design of the high performance p-STT-MRAMs and thermal-assisted MRAMs.

Electrical Manipulation of Exchange Bias in an Antiferromagnet/Ferromagnet‐Based Device via Spin–Orbit Torque

AbstractElectrical manipulation of exchange bias (EB) enables an additional degree of freedom in the design of innovative spintronic devices. However, the electrical switching of EB via spin–orbit torque (SOT) has not been achieved in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), which are one of the building blocks in spintronic devices. Herein, based on the SOT in antiferromagnets (AFMs), perpendicular EB reversal across AFM IrMn and ferromagnetic (FM) [Co/Pt]2 multilayer is demonstrated both in extended and confined geometries. In particular, in three‐terminal perpendicular MTJ devices, the switching of the EB using the SOT is achieved. Both high and low resistances are observed at the zero magnetic field during EB switching. The findings provide the direction to include a new functionality in spintronic devices and will inspire future research in exploring the electrical control of EB in SOT magnetic random access memory (SOT‐MRAM).

Depth-resolved magnetization profile of MgO/CoFeB/W perpendicular half magnetic tunnel junctions

In this work, we used the soft X-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity to study the depth-resolved out-of-plane (oop) magnetization profile of a CoFeB/MgO sample with W/Ta cap layer after annealing at 400°C. It is a powerful technique to probe buried magnetic interfaces of ultra-thin films by combining the depth-resolved information of X-ray reflectivity with the species selectivity of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. It allowed us to resolve the oop magnetization within a 1.36 nm thick CoFeB layer by the measurement of angle-dependent specular reflectivity at large scattering angles (up to 80°). We determined a graded magnetic distribution for both Fe and Co with a 20% increase at the interface with MgO, decreasing slightly over a thickness of 0.7 nm from MgO before it rapidly decreases to 50% at the interface with W. After applying a non-saturating magnetic field in the plane of the sample, we also quantified a similar magnetization profile with an inclined moment configuration. This indicates that the magnetization gradient is a robust property of the CoFeB layer in the studied sample.

High-Throughput Design of Interfacial Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy at Heusler/MgO Heterostructures.

The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) at ferromagnet/insulator interfaces has important technological applications, such as in the fields of magnetic recording and sensing devices. The perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (p-MTJs) with strong PMA have recently attracted increasing interest because they offer high stability and device performance toward low energy consumption. Heusler alloys are a large family of compounds that offer promising magnetic properties for developing p-MTJs. However, it is challenging to select appropriate combinations of Heusler ferromagnets and insulators with the desired interfacial properties. Here, we report a systematic high-throughput screening approach to search for candidate Heusler/MgO material interfaces with strong PMA and other desired material properties for spintronic technologies. On the basis of the open quantum material repositories, we developed a series of material descriptors, including formation energy, convex hull distance, magnetic ordering, lattice misfit, magnetic anisotropy constant, cleavage energy, and tunnel magnetoresistance, to filter candidate Heusler/MgO interfaces among the possible 40 000 ternary Heusler compounds. After a comprehensive screening, five full-Heusler compounds, including Co2CrAl, Co2FeAl, Co2HfSn, Fe2IrGa, and Mn2IrGe, and two half-Heusler compounds, PtCrSb and PtMnAs, were found to be promising for designing p-MTJs. This work demonstrates a new way for the high-throughput design of functional material interfaces for spintronic applications via exploiting the open quantum material repositories and developing effective material descriptors along with the large-scale ab initio calculations for material interfaces.

Effect of Magnetic Coupling Between Two CoFeB Layers on Thermal Stability in Perpendicular Magnetic Tunnel Junctions With MgO/CoFeB/Insertion Layer/CoFeB/MgO Free Layer

We investigated the effect of magnetic coupling (the energy constant of unit area <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\text {cpl}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) between CoFeB free layers on thermal stability factor <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> in magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) with CoFeB/MgO double interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (IPMA). We newly introduced <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\text {cpl}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> in models for calculations, which were based on magnetic domain propagation model when MTJ diameter <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$d$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is larger than critical diameter <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$d_{\text {c}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and magnetization coherent rotation model when <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$d \le d_{\text {c}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . With increasing <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\text {cpl}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> increases and saturates when <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\text {cpl}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is over a critical value <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\mathrm {cpl\_{}c}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . Magnetostatic coupling constants ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\text {stat}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) between the free layers were also calculated. <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\text {stat}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is much smaller than <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\mathrm {cpl\_{}c}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and cannot maximize <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> by itself, so an interlayer exchange coupling (the critical energy constant of unit area <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\mathrm {ex\_{}c}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) is required to cover the difference between <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\mathrm {cpl\_{}c}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\text {stat}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\mathrm {ex\_{}c}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> also rapidly increases with the decrease in <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$d$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and reaches a plateau of 0.15 mJ/m <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> in <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$d \le 30$ </tex-math></inline-formula> nm. MTJ devices with the smallest <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\text {ex}}\,\,(=0.01 \text {mJ/m}^{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) and a moderate PMA (constant per unit area <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K_{\text {eff}} t^{\ast }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) were made and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta s$ </tex-math></inline-formula> were evaluated by experiments. The experimental <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta s$ </tex-math></inline-formula> were fitted by the calculations with adjusting stiffness constants <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$A_{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . The calculated <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta s$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and the experimental <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta s$ </tex-math></inline-formula> were in good agreement when <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$A_{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> had a smaller value than that of the blanket film. Since the experimentally used <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\text {ex}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> value was almost 0, <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> values were estimated when <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$J_{\text {ex}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> was a greater value of 0.15 mJ/m <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> . As a result, 30% enhancement of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> was obtained at the smallest <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$d = 20$ </tex-math></inline-formula> nm.

Perspectives on spintronics technology development: Giant magnetoresistance to spin transfer torque magnetic random access memory

The discovery of the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect in 1988 started a new field called spintronics and was recognized with the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics, which was awarded to Fert and Grunberg. Spintronics is based on the contribution of both electron spin and electron charges of materials to facilitate electronic functions, enabling one extra degree of freedom for device operations. Spintronics has grown rapidly during the past three decades with significant discoveries, technological advancements, and material and device developments that have led to numerous product applications. Furthermore, new research fields and technology areas have been discovered and continue to expand. In this Perspective, key technological advances in the field during the past three decades will be highlighted, starting with the developments that led to the first use of the GMR effect in hard disk drives and its impact in the spintronic ecosystem to currently used perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (pMTJs) for spin transfer torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM) devices. The important aspects of the pMTJ characteristics for the application of STT-MRAM will be discussed. This Perspective will present perspectives on a new structure that enhances the efficiency of the pMTJ-based STT-MRAM and research directions that can drive further advances in spintronics.

Bipolar Electric-Field Switching of Perpendicular Magnetic Tunnel Junctions through Voltage-Controlled Exchange Coupling.

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (p-MTJs) switched utilizing bipolar electric fields have extensive applications in energy-efficient memory and logic devices. Voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy linearly lowers the energy barrier of the ferromagnetic layer via the electric field effect and efficiently switches p-MTJs only with a unipolar behavior. Here, we demonstrate a bipolar electric field effect switching of 100 nm p-MTJs with a synthetic antiferromagnetic free layer through voltage-controlled exchange coupling (VCEC). The switching current density, ∼1.1 × 105 A/cm2, is 1 order of magnitude lower than that of the best-reported spin-transfer torque devices. Theoretical results suggest that the electric field induces a ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic exchange coupling transition of the synthetic antiferromagnetic free layer and generates a fieldlike interlayer exchange coupling torque, which causes the bidirectional magnetization switching of p-MTJs. These results could eliminate the major obstacle in the development of spin memory devices beyond their embedded applications.

Ferromagnetic resonance and magnetization switching characteristics of perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with synthetic antiferromagnetic free layers

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (pMTJs) with synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) free layers have attracted much interest for applications on spintronic memory devices with ultrafast speed and ultralow energy. In this work, SAF free layer pMTJs (SAF-pMTJs) were designed and fabricated, in which a Ru/Ta bilayer spacer is used to form the SAF structure. We first characterized the magnetization dynamics of the SAF free layer by using ferromagnetic resonance and found that the Gilbert damping constant of the SAF free layer is around 0.019. Then, in device level studies that span from 900 nm down to 200 nm lateral size, we observed a transition of the SAF free layer from a preferred antiparallel to parallel magnetic configuration at small device sizes, which can be explained by the increased dipole interaction. The impact of the operating current was also investigated. We report an extraordinarily strong dependence, up to 144.1 kOe per A/μm2, of the offset field on the applied current, suggesting an electric-field modulation on the interlayer exchange coupling of the SAF free layer. These results will be instructive to improve the understanding of material properties and device performance of SAF-pMTJs for ultrafast, ultralow-power consumption spintronic devices.

STDP implementation using multi-state spin−orbit torque synapse

The abundance of data to be processed calls for new computing paradigms, which could accommodate, and directly map artificial neural network architectures at the hardware level. Neuromorphic computing has emerged as a potential solution, proposing the implementation of artificial neurons and synapses on physical substrates. Conventionally, neuromorphic platforms are deployed in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. However, such implementations still cannot compete with the highly energy-efficient performance of the brain. This calls for novel ultra-low-power nano-scale devices with the possibility of upscaling for the implementation of complex networks. In this paper, a multi-state spin−orbit torque (SOT) synapse based on the three-terminal perpendicular anisotropy magnetic tunnel junction (P-MTJ) is proposed. In this implementation, P-MTJs use common heavy metals but with different cross-section areas, thereby creating multiple states that can be harnessed to implement synapses. The proposed multi-state SOT synapse can solve the state-limited issue of spin-based synapses. Moreover, it is shown that the proposed multi-state SOT synapse can be programmed to reproduce the spike-timing-dependent plasticity learning algorithm.

Controlling the magnetic alignment at the MnGa/Co2MnSi interface: A DFT study

The MnGa/Co2MnSi is a common electrode in Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJ). We study the MnGa/Co2MnSi interfaces using spin-polarized Density Functional Theory. We have focused on the interface stability and the effect of the interface arrangements -at the atomic scale- on its electronic and magnetic properties. Depending on how the atomic species interact at the interface, the MnGa/Co2MnSi electrode can show either antiferromagnetic or ferromagnetic behavior, modulating the spin transfer through the system. Antiferromagnetic ordering appears due to Mn-Mn interlayer interactions across the MnSi-Mn interface and is thermodynamically stable for Co-poor and Mn-rich growth conditions. Mn atoms have magnetic moments of −2.97 μB and 2.31 μB. On the other hand, a ferromagnetic behavior could be engineered under Co-rich and Mn-poor conditions, as demonstrated by the interface formation energy analysis. Such magnetic ordering emerges at the Co-Ga interface since direct Mn-Mn interlayer interactions disappear; Mn atoms have magnetic moments of ∼ 3.00 μB and ∼ 2.8 μB for the Co2MnSi and MnGa films, respectively. Our findings lay the foundations to guide experimental efforts in designing electrodes that could potentially generate efficient tunneling behavior in perpendicular Magnetic Tunnel Junctions, which are the heart of novel MRAMs.

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with multi-interface free layer

Future generations of magnetic random access memory demand magnetic tunnel junctions that can provide simultaneously high magnetoresistance, strong retention, low switching energy, and small cell size below 10 nm. Here, we study perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with composite free layers, where multiple ferromagnet/nonmagnet interfaces can contribute to the thermal stability. Different nonmagnetic materials (MgO, Ta, and Mo) have been employed as the coupling layers in these multi-interface free layers. The evolution of junction properties under different annealing conditions is investigated. A strong dependence of the tunneling magnetoresistance on the thickness of the first CoFeB layer has been observed. In junctions where Mo and MgO are used as coupling layers, a large tunneling magnetoresistance above 200% has been achieved after 400 °C annealing.

Thermally Robust Perpendicular SOT-MTJ Memory Cells With STT-Assisted Field-Free Switching

A back-end-of-line compatible 400 °C thermally robust perpendicular spin-orbit torque magnetic tunnel junction (p-SOT-MTJ) memory cell with a tunnel magnetoresistance ratio of 130% is demonstrated. It features an energy-efficient spin-transfer-torque-assisted field-free spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching and a novel interface-enhanced synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF). The optimal SAF with a Ru (9 Å) spacer sandwiched by Co/Pt multilayers has a high SAF coupling field of 2.8 kOe. The parallel magnetic coupling between the CoFeB-based reference layer and the bottom Co/Pt multilayer is enhanced by a magnet-coupling face-centered cubic textured Co/Pt (5 Å) multilayer buffer. The thermally induced Pt–Fe interdiffusion is effectively reduced by the W (3 Å) trilayers of texture-decoupling diffusion multibarrier. The Ta/ <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> -W and TaN/ <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\beta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> -W composite SOT channels are thick enough to be the etching stop and sustain 400 °C annealing without transforming to <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha $ </tex-math></inline-formula> -W. Using the harmonic Hall voltage measurement, the Ta/W and TaN/W channels exhibit the large effective spin Hall angle of approximately −0.21 and −0.27, respectively. Scaling magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) down to 30 nm size can reduce the switching time due to single-domain switching based on the micromagnetic simulation. The damping constant of ~0.018 is obtained by the ferromagnetic resonance measurement. A bigger damping constant reduces the switching time as predicted by the calibrated simulation.

Femtosecond laser-assisted switching in perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with double-interface free layer

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with double-interface free layer (p-DMTJs), which exhibit enhanced tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) and thermal stability (Δ) at the nanoscale, have received considerable interest as building blocks for spintronic data storage devices. Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) techniques have been widely employed in mainstream magnetic storage to enable ultrahigh storage density. However, the data access is achieved by sensing the stray field of the selected magnetic element using a mechanical “read head”, resulting in an unfavorable speed limitation and design complexity. To address this issue, integrating laser-assisted switching with a high-performance magnetic tunnel junction has received interest in spintronic R&D; however, it has not yet been achieved. In this study, we experimentally explored femtosecond (fs) laser-assisted switching in a p-DMTJ device using a direct electrical TMR readout. We demonstrate two reconfigurable switching operations, i.e., binary “write” and unidirectional “reset”, by the interplay of the fs laser and synchronized magnetic field sequence. We further explored the joint effect, and a switching phase diagram was obtained. The effect of the stray field of p-DMTJ, as well as laser helicity, on switching is also discussed. Results show the feasibility of fs laser-assisted writing p-DMTJs, which can pave the way in high-density optospintronic storage applications.

Stateful implication logic based on perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions

Stateful implication logic based on perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions