Enhanced voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy in magnetic tunnel junctions with an MgO/PZT/MgO tunnel barrier

Compared with current-controlled magnetization switching in a perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), electric field- or voltage-induced magnetization switching reduces the writing energy of the memory cell, which also results in increased memory density. In this work, an ultra-thin PZT film w...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Applied physics letters 2016-03, Vol.108 (11)
Hauptverfasser: Chien, Diana, Li, Xiang, Wong, Kin, Zurbuchen, Mark A., Robbennolt, Shauna, Yu, Guoqiang, Tolbert, Sarah, Kioussis, Nicholas, Khalili Amiri, Pedram, Wang, Kang L., Chang, Jane P.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Compared with current-controlled magnetization switching in a perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), electric field- or voltage-induced magnetization switching reduces the writing energy of the memory cell, which also results in increased memory density. In this work, an ultra-thin PZT film with high dielectric constant was integrated into the tunneling oxide layer to enhance the voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) effect. The growth of MTJ stacks with an MgO/PZT/MgO tunnel barrier was performed using a combination of sputtering and atomic layer deposition techniques. The fabricated MTJs with the MgO/PZT/MgO barrier demonstrate a VCMA coefficient, which is ∼40% higher (19.8  ±  1.3 fJ/V m) than the control sample MTJs with an MgO barrier (14.3  ±  2.7 fJ/V m). The MTJs with the MgO/PZT/MgO barrier also possess a sizeable tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) of more than 50% at room temperature, comparable to the control MTJs with an MgO barrier. The TMR and enhanced VCMA effect demonstrated simultaneously in this work make the MgO/PZT/MgO barrier-based MTJs potential candidates for future voltage-controlled, ultralow-power, and high-density magnetic random access memory devices.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4943023