Gate controllable spin transistor with semiconducting tunneling barrier

In this work,we have fabricated a single layer graphene spin transistor on SiO2/Si with a semiconducting tri-layer MoS2 as the tunneling barrier between the ferromagnetic electrodes and the graphene channel.The spin transport in this parallel heterostructure were investigated in detail.The spin switch signal was controlled by tuning the conductivity of MoS2 with different gate voltages.When MoS2 was turned off under negative back gate voltage,the spin switch signal was clearly obtained,whereas it disappeared when MoS2 was conductive under positive back gate bias.This spin transistor showed on,subthreshold and off states when back gate voltage changed from negative to positive.This work exploited a new possibility of semiconducting 2D materials as the tunneling barrier of spin valves.

The conductive mechanisms of a titanium oxide memristor with dopant drift and a tunnel barrier

Nano-scale titanium oxide memristors exhibit complex conductive characteristics, which have already been proved by existing research. One possible reason for this is that more than one mechanism exists, and together they codetermine the conductive behaviors of the memristor. In this paper, we first analyze the theoretical base and conductive process of a memristor, and then propose a compatible circuit model to discuss and simulate the coexistence of the dopant drift and tunnel barrier-based mechanisms. Simulation results are given and compared with the published experimental data to prove the possibility of the coexistence. This work provides a practical model and some suggestions for studying the conductive mechanisms of memristors.

Electronic structures of new tunnel barrier spinel MgAl_2O_4:first-principles calculations

The electronic structures of spinel MgAl 2 O 4 and MgOtunnel barrier materials were investigated using first-principles density functional theory calculations. Our results show that similar electronic structures are found for the MgAl 2 O 4 and MgO tunneling barriers. The calculated direct energy gaps at the Γ-point are about 5.10 eV for MgAl 2 O 4 and 4.81 eV for MgO, respectively. Because of the similar feature in band structures from Γ high-symmetry point to F point ( band), the coherent tunneling effect might be expected to appear in MgAl 2 O 4-based MTJs like in MgO-based MTJs. The small difference of the surface free energies of Fe (2.9 J m 2 ) and MgAl 2 O 4 (2.27 J m 2 ) on the {100} orientation, and the smaller lattice mismatch between MgAl 2 O 4 and ferromagnetic electrodes than that between MgO and ferromagnetic electrodes, the spinel MgAl 2 O 4 can substitute MgO to fabricate the coherent tunneling and chemically stable magnetic tunnel junction structures, which will be applied in the next generation read heads or spintronic devices.

Low frequency noise in asymmetric double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions with a top thin MgO layer

Low frequency noise has been investigated at room temperature for asymmetric double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions（DBMTJs）, where the coupling between the top and middle CoFeB layers is antiferromagnetic with a 0.8-nm thin top Mg O barrier of the CoFeB/MgO/CoFe/CoFeB/MgO/CoFe B DBMTJ. At enough large bias, 1/f noise dominates the voltage noise power spectra in the low frequency region, and is conventionally characterized by the Hooge parameter αmag.With increasing external field, the top and bottom ferromagnetic layers are aligned by the field, and then the middle free layer rotates from antiparallel state（antiferromagnetic coupling between top and middle ferromagnetic layers） to parallel state. In this rotation process αmag and magnetoresistance-sensitivity-product show a linear dependence, consistent with the fluctuation dissipation relation. With the magnetic field applied at different angles（θ） to the easy axis of the free layer,the linear dependence persists while the intercept of the linear fit satisfies a cos（θ） dependence, similar to that for the magnetoresistance, suggesting intrinsic relation between magnetic losses and magnetoresistance.

Intercalation of germanium oxide beneath large-area and high-quality epitaxial graphene on Ir(111) substrate

Epitaxial growth on transition metal surfaces is an effective way to prepare large-area and high-quality graphene.However,the strong interaction between graphene and metal substrates suppresses the intrinsic excellent properties of graphene and the conductive metal substrates also hinder its applications in electronics.Here we demonstrate the decoupling of graphene from metal substrates by germanium oxide intercalation.Germanium is firstly intercalated into the interface between graphene and Ir(111) substrate.Then oxygen is subsequently intercalated,leading to the formation of a GeO_(x) layer,which is confirmed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.Low-energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy studies show intact carbon lattice of graphene after the GeO_(x) intercalation.Raman characterizations reveal that the intercalated layer effectively decouples graphene from the Ir substrate.The transport measurements demonstrate that the GeO_(x) layer can act as a tunneling barrier in the fabricated large-area high-quality vertical graphene/GeO_(x)/Ir heterostructure.

Spin-dependent Transport Properties of CrO_2 Micro Rod

The Cr O2 micro rod powder was synthesized by decomposing the Cr O3 flakes at a specific temperature to yield precursor and annealing such a precursor in a sealed glass tube. The magneto-transport properties have been measured by a direct current four-probe method using a Cu/Cr O2rods/colloidal silver liquid electrode sandwich device. The largest magnetoresistance(MR) around *72 % was observed at 77 K with applied current of 0.05 l A. The non-linear I–V curve indicates a tunneling type transport properties and the tunneling barrier height is around 2.2 ± 0.04 e V at 77 K, which is obtained with fitting the non-linear I–V curves using Simmons' equation. A mixing of Cr oxides on the surface of Cr O2 rod observed by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy provides a tunneling barrier rather than a single phase of Cr2O3 insulating barrier. The MR shows strong bias voltage dependence and is ascribed to the two-step tunneling process.

Ag-GST/HfO_(x)-based unidirectional threshold switching selector with low leakage current and threshold voltage distribution for high-density cross-point arrays

The use of electrochemical-metallization-based volatile threshold switching selectors in cross-point arrays has been widely explored owing to their high on-off ratios and simple structure.However,these devices are unsuitable for cross-point architectures because of the difficulty in controlling the random filament formation that results in large fluctuations in the threshold voltage during operation.In this study,we investigated the unidirectional threshold transition characteristics associated with an Ag/GST/HfO_(x)/Pt-based bilayer selector and demonstrated the occurrence of a low leakage current(<1×10^(-11) A) and low distribution of the threshold voltage(Δ0.11 V).The bilayer structure could control the filament formation in the intermediate state through the insertion of an HfO_(x) tunneling barrier.By stacking a bilayer selector with NiO_(x)based resistive random-access memory,the leakage and programming currents of the device could be significantly decreased.For the crossbar array configuration,we performed equivalent circuit analysis of a one-selector oneresistor(1S1R) devices and estimated the optimal array size to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed structure.The maximum acceptable crossbar array size of the 1S1R device with the Ag/GST/HfO_(x)/Pt/Ti/NiO_(x)/Pt structure was 5.29×10^(14)(N^(2),N=2.3×10^(7)).

Tunnel magnetoresistance with atomically thin two- dimensional hexagonal boron nitride barriers

The two-dimensional atomically thin insulator hexagonal boron nitride （h-BN） constitutes a new paradigm in tunnel based devices. A large band gap, along with its atomically flat nature without dangling bonds or interface trap states, makes it an ideal candidate for tunnel spin transport in spintronic devices. Here, we demonstrate the tunneling of spin-polarized electrons through large area monolayer h-BN prepared by chemical vapor deposition in magnetic tunnel junctions. In ferromagnet/h-BN/ferromagnet heterostructures fabricated on a chip scale, we show tunnel magnetoresistance at room temperature. Measurements at different bias voltages and on multiple devices with different ferromagnetic electrodes establish the spin polarized tunneling using h-BN barriers. These results open the way for integration of 2D monolayer insulating barriers in active spintronic devices and circuits operating at ambient temperature, and for further exploration of their properties and prospects.

BE-SONOS flash memory along with metal gate and high-k dielectrics in tunnel barrier and its impact on charge retention dynamics

We investigate the effect of a high-k dielectric in the tunnel layer to improve the erase speed-retention trade-off. Here, the proposed stack in the tunnel layer is AlLaO_3/Hf AlO/SiO_2. These proposed materials possess low valence band offset with high permittivity to improve both the erase speed and retention time in barrier engineered silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon（BE-SONOS）. In the proposed structure Hf Al O and AlLaO_3 replace Si_3N_4 and the top SiO_2 layer in a conventional oxide/nitride/oxide（ONO） tunnel stack. Due to the lower conduction band offset（CBO） and high permittivity of the proposed material in the tunnel layer, it offers better program/erase（P/E） speed and retention time. In this work the gate length is also scaled down from 220 to 55 nm to observe the effect of high-k materials while scaling, for the same equivalent oxide thickness（EOT）. We found that the scaling down of the gate length has a negligible impact on the memory window of the devices. Hence, various investigated tunnel oxide stacks possess a good memory window with a charge retained up to 87.4%（at room temperature） after a period of ten years. We also examine the use of a metal gate instead of a polysilicon gate, which shows improved P/E speed and retention time.