Effect of Mg interlayer on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of CoFeB films in MgO/Mg/CoFeB/Ta structure

The effects of Mg metallic interlayer on the magnetic properties of thin CoFeB films in MgO/Mg (tMg)/CoFeB (1.2 nm)/Ta structures were studied in this letter. Our experimental result shows that the CoFeB film exhibits perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) when the CoFeB and MgO layers are separated by a metallic Mg layer with a maximum thickness of 0.8 nm. The origin of PMA was discussed by considering the preferential transmission of the Δ1 symmetry preserved by the Mg interlayer in crystallized MgO/Mg/CoFeB/Ta. In addition, the thin Mg interlayer also contributes to enhancing the thermal stability and reducing the effective damping constant and coercivity of the CoFeB film.