Magnetic-sensor performance evaluated from magneto-conductance curve in magnetic tunnel junctions using in-plane or perpendicularly magnetized synthetic antiferromagnetic reference layers
The automotive industry requires magnetic sensors exhibiting highly linear output within a dynamic range as wide as ±1 kOe. A simple model predicts that the magneto-conductance (G-H) curve in a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is perfectly linear, whereas the magneto-resistance (R-H) curve inevitably...
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Veröffentlicht in: | AIP advances 2018-04, Vol.8 (4), p.045011-045011-6 |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | The automotive industry requires magnetic sensors exhibiting highly linear output within a dynamic range as wide as ±1 kOe. A simple model predicts that the magneto-conductance (G-H) curve in a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is perfectly linear, whereas the magneto-resistance (R-H) curve inevitably contains a finite nonlinearity. We prepared two kinds of MTJs using in-plane or perpendicularly magnetized synthetic antiferromagnetic (i-SAF or p-SAF) reference layers and investigated their sensor performance. In the MTJ with the i-SAF reference layer, the G-H curve did not necessarily show smaller nonlinearities than those of the R-H curve with different dynamic ranges. This is because the magnetizations of the i-SAF reference layer start to rotate at a magnetic field even smaller than the switching field (Hsw) measured by a magnetometer, which significantly affects the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) effect. In the MTJ with the p-SAF reference layer, the G-H curve showed much smaller nonlinearities than those of the R-H curve, thanks to a large Hsw value of the p-SAF reference layer. We achieved a nonlinearity of 0.08% FS (full scale) in the G-H curve with a dynamic range of ±1 kOe, satisfying our target for automotive applications. This demonstrated that a reference layer exhibiting a large Hsw value is indispensable in order to achieve a highly linear G-H curve. |
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ISSN: | 2158-3226 2158-3226 |
DOI: | 10.1063/1.5027768 |