MgGa2O4 spinel barrier for magnetic tunnel junctions: Coherent tunneling and low barrier height

Epitaxial Fe/magnesium gallium spinel oxide (MgGa2O4)/Fe(001) magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) were fabricated by magnetron sputtering. A tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio up to 121% at room temperature (196% at 4 K) was observed, suggesting a TMR enhancement by the coherent tunneling effect in the MgGa2O4 barrier. The MgGa2O4 layer had a spinel structure and it showed good lattice matching with the Fe layers owing to slight tetragonal lattice distortion of MgGa2O4. Barrier thickness dependence of the tunneling resistance and current-voltage characteristics revealed that the height of the MgGa2O4 barrier is much lower than that of an MgAl2O4 barrier. This study demonstrates the potential of Ga-based spinel oxides for MTJ barriers having a large TMR ratio at a low resistance area product.