Effects of Fe-Oxide and Mg Layer Insertion on Tunneling Magnetoresistance Properties of CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB Magnetic Tunnel Junctions

To study the influence of CoFeB/MgO interface on tunneling magnetoresistance （TMR）, different structures of magnetic tunnel junctions （MTJs） are successfully prepared by the magnetron sputtering technique and characterized by atomic force microscopy, a physical property measurement system, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The experimental results show that TMR of the CoFeB/Mg/MgO/CoFeB structure is evidently improved in comparison with the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB structure because the inserted Mg layer prevents Fe-oxide formation at the CoFeB/MgO interface, which occurs in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB MTJs. The inherent properties of the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB, CoFeB/Fe-oxide/MgO/CoFeB and CoFeB/Mg/MgO/CoFeB MTJs are simulated by using the theories of density functions and non-equilibrium Green functions. The simulated results demonstrate that TMR of CoFeB/Fe-oxide/MgO/CoFeB MTJs is severely decreased and is only half the value of the CoFeB/Mg/MgO/CoFeB MTJs. Based on the experimental results and theoretical analysis, it is believed that in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB MTJs, the interface oxidation of the CoFeB layer is the main reason to cause a remarkable reduction of TMR, and the inserted Mg layer may play an important role in protecting Fe atoms from oxidation, and then increasing TMR.

Huge Tunneling Magnetoresistance in Magnetic Tunnel Junction with Heusler Alloy Co_(2)MnSi Electrodes

Magnetic tunnel junction with a large tunneling magnetoresistance has attracted great attention due to its importance in the spintronics applications.By performing extensive density functional theory calculations combined with the nonequilibrium Green’s function method,we explore the spin-dependent transport properties of a magnetic tunnel junction,in which a non-polar SrTiO_(3) barrier layer is sandwiched between two Heusler alloy Co_(2)MnSi electrodes.Theoretical results clearly reveal that the near perfect spin-filtering effect appears in the parallel magnetization configuration.The transmission coefficient in the parallel magnetization configuration at the Fermi level is several orders of magnitude larger than that in the antiparallel magnetization configuration,resulting in a huge tunneling magnetoresistance(i.e.>10^(6)),which originates from the coherent spin-polarized tunneling,due to the half-metallic nature of Co_(2)MnSi electrodes and the significant spin-polarization of the interfacial Ti_(3)d orbital.

Negative tunnelling magnetoresistance in spin filtering magnetic junctions with spin-orbit coupling

We present theoretical calculations of spin transport in spin filtering magnetic tunnelling junctions based on the Landauer Biittiker formalism and taking into account the spin-orbit coupling （SOC）. It is shown that spin-flip scattering induced by SOC is stronger in parallel alignment of magnetization of the ferromegnet barrier （FB） and the ferromagnetic electrode than that in antiparallel case. The increase of negative tunnelling magnetoresistance with bias is in agreement with recent experimental observation.

Large spin Hall effect and tunneling magnetoresistance in iridium-based magnetic tunnel junctions

Magnetic tunnel junctions(MTJs)switched by spin-orbit torque(SOT)have attracted substantial interest owing to their advantages of ultrahigh speed and prolonged endurance.Both field-free magnetization switching and high tunneling magnetoresistance(TMR)are critical for the practical application of SOT magnetic random access memory(MRAM).In this work,we propose an MTJ structure based on an iridium(Ir)bottom layer.Ir metal is a desirable candidate for field-free SOT switching owing to its strong intrinsic spin Hall conductivity(SHC),which can be enhanced via doping.Herein,we study TMR in Ir-based MTJs with symmetric and asymmetric structures.Ir-based MTJs exhibit large TMR,which can be further enhanced by heavy metal symmetry owing to the resonant tunneling effect.Our comprehensive investigations illustrate that Ir-based MTJs are promising candidates for realizing SOT switching and high TMR.

High Sensitivity Biomolecular Recognition Device Based on Giant Magnetoresistance Effect

The structure and microfabrication,the detecting theory and the way of biomolecular recognition device based on giant magnetoresistance(GMR) effect are introduced,also the signal detecting and processing instrumentation are presented. Here the GMR biosensor was fabricated with magnetic tunnel junction(MJT) material.The biomolecular recognition device contains an array of MJT sensors,single MJT sensor size is 10μm×20μm,tunneling magnetoresistance ratio(TMR) at room temperature is 52.2%,the typical values of junction resistance-area product Rs is 2.6 kΩμm^2,detecting sensitivity of this system is about 8×10^(-4) A·m^(-1).Bioadaptation layer of this device was fabricated with PDMS the thickness of which is less than 100 nm.

MgO(001) barrier based magnetic tunnel junctions and their device applications

Spintronics has received a great attention and significant interest within the past decades,and provided considerable and remarked applications in industry and electronic information etc.In spintronics,the MgO based magnetic tunnel junction(MTJ) is an important research advancement because of its physical properties and excellent performance,such as the high TMR ratio in MgO based MTJs.We present an overview of more than a decade development in MgO based MTJs.The review contains three main sections.(1) Research of several types of MgO based MTJs,including single-crystal MgO barrier based-MTJs,double barrier MTJs,MgO based MTJs with interlayer,novel electrode material MTJs based on MgO,novel barrier based MTJs,novel barrier MTJs based on MgO,and perpendicular MTJs.(2) Some typical physical effects in MgO based MTJs,which include six observed physical effects in MgO based MTJs,namely spin transfer torque(STT) effect,Coulomb blockade magnetoresistance(CBMR) effect,oscillatory magnetoresistance,quantum-well resonance tunneling effect,electric field assisted magnetization switching effect,and spincaloric effect.(3) In the last section,a brief introduction of some important device applications of MgO based MTJs,such as GMR & TMR read heads and magneto-sensitive sensors,both field and current switching MRAM,spin nano oscillators,and spin logic devices,have been provided.

Room-temperature tunable tunneling magnetoresistance in Fe_(3)GaTe_(2)/WSe_(2)/Fe_(3)GaTe_(2) van der Waals heterostructures

The exceptional properties of two-dimensional(2D)magnet materials present a novel approach to fabricate functional magnetic tunnel junctions(MTJ)by constructing full van der Waals(vdW)heterostructures with atomically sharp and clean interfaces.The exploration of vdW MTJ devices with high working temperature and adjustable functionalities holds great potential for advancing the application of 2D materials in magnetic sensing and data storage.Here,we report the observation of highly tunable room-temperature tunneling magnetoresistance through electronic means in a full vdW Fe_(3)GaTe_(2)/WSe_(2)/Fe_(3)GaTe_(2) MTJ.The spin valve effect of the MTJ can be detected even with the current below 1 nA,both at low and room temperatures,yielding a tunneling magnetoresistance(TMR)of 340%at 2 K and 50%at 300 K,respectively.Importantly,the magnitude and sign of TMR can be modulated by a DC bias current,even at room temperature,a capability that was previously unrealized in full vdW MTJs.This tunable TMR arises from the contribution of energy-dependent localized spin states in the metallic ferromagnet Fe_(3)GaTe_(2) during tunnel transport when a finite electrical bias is applied.Our work offers a new perspective for designing and exploring room-temperature tunable spintronic devices based on vdW magnet heterostructures.

Spin manipulations through electrical and thermoelectrical transport in magnetic tunnel junctions

A brief review is presented,which includes the direct current,alternate current,electrical and thermoelectrical transport as well as spin transfer effect in a variety of spin-based nanostructures such as the magnetic tunnel junction(MTJ),ferromagnet(FM)-quantum dot(QD)/FM-FM,double barrier MTJ,FM-marginal Fermi liquid-FM,FM-unconventional superconductor-FM(FUSF),quantum ring and optical spin-field-effect transistor.The magnetoresistances in those structures,spin accumulation effect in FM-QD-FM and FUSF systems,spin injection and spin filter into semiconductor,spin transfer effect,photon-assisted spin transport,magnonassisted tunneling,electron-electron interaction effect on spin transport,laser-controlled spin dynamics,and thermoelectrical spin transport are discussed.

86% TMR at 4.2 K for Amorphous Magnetic-Tunnel-Junctions with Co_(60)Fe_(20)B_(20) as Free and Pinned Layers

Single barrier magnetic-tunnel-junctions (MTJs) with the layer structure of Ta(5)/Cu(30)/Ta(5)/Ni79Fe21(5)/Ir22 Mn78(12)/Co60Fe20B20(4)/Al(0.8)-oxide/Co60Fe20B20(4)/Cu(30)/Ta(5) [thickness unit: nm] using the amorphous Co60Fe20B20 alloy as free and pinned layers were micro-fabricated. The experimental investigations showed that the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio and the resistance decrease with increasing dc bias voltage from 0 to 500 mV or with increasing temperature from 4.2 K to RT. A high TMR ratio of 86.2% at 4.2 K, which corresponds to the high spin polarization of Co60Fe20B20, 55%, was observed in the MTJs after annealing at 270℃ for 1 h. High TMR ratio of 53.1%, low junction resistance-area product RS of 3.56 kΩμm2, small coercivity HC of ≤4 Oe, and relatively large bias-voltage-at-half-maximum TMR with the value V1/2 of greater than 570 mV at RT have been achieved in such Co-Fe-B MTJs.

Two-dimensional XSe2（X = Mn, V） based magnetic tunneling junctions with high Curie temperature

Two-dimensional(2D) magnetic crystals have attracted great attention due to their emerging new physical phenomena. They provide ideal platforms to study the fundamental physics of magnetism in low dimensions. In this research,magnetic tunneling junctions(MTJs) based on XSe2(X = Mn, V) with room-temperature ferromagnetism were studied using first-principles calculations. A large tunneling magnetoresistance(TMR) of 725.07% was obtained in the MTJs based on monolayer MnSe2. Several schemes were proposed to improve the TMR of these devices. Moreover, the results of our non-equilibrium transport calculations showed that the large TMR was maintained in these devices under a finite bias.The transmission spectrum was analyzed according to the orbital components and the electronic structure of the monolayer XSe2(X = Mn, V). The results in this paper demonstrated that the MTJs based on a 2D ferromagnet with room-temperature ferromagnetism exhibited reliable performance. Therefore, such devices show the possibility for potential applications in spintronics.

Tunneling magnetoresistance of the double spin-filter junctions at nonzero bias

A recent theoretical estimation indicated that the NM/FI/FI/NM double spin-filter junction (DSFJ, here the NM and FI represent the nonmagnetic electrode and the ferromagnetic insulator (semiconductor) spacer, respectively) could have very high tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) at zero bias. To meet the requirement in research and application of the magnetoresistance devices, we have calculated the dependences of tunneling magnetoresistance of DSF J on the bias (volt-age), the thicknesses of ferromagnetic insulators (semiconductors) and the average barrier height. Our results show that except its very high value, the TMR of DSFJ does not decrease montonously and rapidly with rising bias, but increase slowly at first and decrease then after having reached a maximum value. This feature is in distinct contrast to the ordinary magnetic tunnel junction FM/NI/FM (FM and NI denote the ferromagnetic electrode and the nonmagnetic insulator (semiconductor) spacer, respectively), and is of benefit to the use of DSFJ as a magnetoresistance device.

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.

新型磁性隧道结材料及其隧穿磁电阻效应

典型的磁性隧道结是"三明治"结构,即由上下两个铁磁电极以及中间厚度为1 nm量级的绝缘势垒层构成。当外加磁场使两铁磁电极的磁矩由平行态向反平行态翻转时,隧穿电阻会发生低电阻态向高电阻态的转变。自从1995年发现室温隧穿磁电阻(TMR)以来,非晶势垒的AlOx磁性隧道结在磁性随机存储器(MRAM)和磁硬盘磁读头(Read Head)中得到了广泛的应用,2007年室温下其磁电阻比值可达到80%。下一代高速、低功耗、高性能的自旋电子学器件的发展,迫切需要更高的室温TMR比值和新型的调制结构。2001年通过第一性原理计算发现:由于MgO(001)势垒对不同对称性的自旋极化电子具有自旋过滤(Spin Filter)效应,单晶外延的Fe(001)/MgO(001)/Fe(001)磁性隧道结的TMR比值可超过1 000%,随后2004年在单晶或多晶的MgO磁性隧道结中获得室温约200%的TMR比值,2008年更是在赝自旋阀结构CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB磁性隧道结中获得高达604%的室温TMR比值。伴随着新势垒材料的不断发现和各种磁性隧道结结构的优化,共振隧穿和自旋依赖的库仑阻塞磁电阻等新效应以及磁性传感器、磁性随机存储器和自旋纳米振荡器及微波检测器等新器件逐渐成为科学和工业界所关注的研究与应用热点。对磁性隧道结(MTJ)材料及其器件应用研究和进展进行了简要介绍。

磁隧道结的研究进展

从隧道结两种通用的基本理论出发,从材料选取的角度详细介绍了磁性隧道结不同的中间层和铁磁层材料的研究成果,揭示了材料选取对隧道结磁电阻的重要影响,并对其发展和应用前景进行了展望。

巨磁电阻效应

评介了巨磁电阻（ＧｉａｎｔＭａｇｎｅｔｏｒｅｓｉｓｔａｎｃｅ）效应的实验观测、理论分析及其在磁存储等技术中奇迹般的应用，着重阐述了电子自旋化输运的概念．

基于MgO磁性隧道结的五种隧穿磁电阻线性传感单元性能比较

磁性隧道结经过结构优化和性能提升已成功应用于磁存储、磁传感、磁逻辑等多种自旋电子学器件中.磁传感是利用磁性隧道结的自由层和钉扎层之间特殊的磁结构来实现隧穿磁电阻(TMR)随外加磁场变化而呈现的线性输出.迄今为止,人们基于MgO磁性隧道结已经研发出五种TMR线性传感单元,分别是人工间接双交换耦合型、磁场偏置型、面内/面外垂直型、超顺磁型的TMR线性传感单元.本文梳理了这五种TMR线性传感单元并对它们的磁传感性能进行了系统比较,为人们探索和发现磁敏传感器的相关应用提供了帮助.

氧化镁磁隧道结磁电阻效应的研究进展

概述了近年来关于氧化镁磁隧道结磁电阻效应的最新研究进展,介绍了势垒层厚度、偏压、温度以及微结构等因素对磁电阻效应的影响。氧化镁磁隧道结的磁电阻效应与铁磁电极层和势垒层间的界面化学态与磁状态密切相关,势垒层厚度、偏压和温度等对磁电阻效应的影响关系表现出与传统氧化铝磁隧道结不同的变化特点。根据氧化镁磁隧道结磁电阻效应的研究状况,对其将来的发展进行了展望。

栅控电势磁性隧道结的隧穿磁阻研究

基于Slonczewski理论模型和矩阵方法研究了由栅控制中间层电势高度的磁性隧道结的隧穿磁阻效应。数值计算了中间层势垒为0~3 V以及中间层势阱为0~3 V的磁性隧道结的隧穿磁阻随着中间层厚度改变的变化曲线。计算结果表明，当中间层为势垒时，隧穿磁阻随着中间层厚度单调下降；当中间层为势阱时，隧穿磁阻随着中间层厚度振荡，并且相比于势垒情况时明显提高。这说明栅控中间层磁性隧道结相比于传统磁性隧道结具有更好的可控性和提高隧穿磁阻效应的潜力。

巨磁电阻效应

巨磁电阻效应具有重要的基础研究意义,又有宽广的应用背景.本文将综述铁磁金属与合金的各向异性磁电阻效应,磁性多层膜、颗粒膜、钙钛石型化合物薄膜以及磁性隧道结的巨磁电阻效应.巨磁电阻效应的物理机理在于传导电子自旋平行与反平行局域磁化矢量具有不同的散射几率.磁学与电子学的结合开拓了新的磁电子学研究领域.

自旋旋电子学材料:Fe_4N薄薄膜及其异质结构

本文综述了在自旋电子学器件上具有潜在应用前景的钙钛矿结构的Fe4N薄膜及其异质结构的研究成果和最新进展情况。文章从引言开始,介绍了钙钛矿结构Fe4N的晶体结构和基本性质;之后对多晶Fe4N薄膜、外延Fe4N薄膜、Fe4N/Co N双层膜、Fe4N/Alq3/Co自旋阀、以Fe4N为电极的隧道结的形貌、晶体结构、磁性、交换偏置、自旋相关的电输运特性和磁电阻效应进行了介绍;最后对Fe4N材料的相关研究结果进行了简单的总结和展望。