• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.22-27
• /
• 2009

Reduction of the critical current density ($J_c$) for STT magnetization switching is most important issue of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) based MRAM. This report describes how to decrease the Jc and will introduce the recent research progresses of STT-MRAM devices with material engineering and structural improvement, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.159-163
• /
• 2000

MR characteristics in magnetic tunnel junction using CoO as the oxide barrier were investigated. Spin-dependent tunnel junctions were fabricated on 4$\^$o/ tilt-cut (111)Si substrates in 3-gun magnetron sputtering system. The top and bottom ferromagnetic electrodes were Ni$\_$80/Fe$\_$20/(300 $\AA$) and Co(300 $\AA$), respectively. The oxide barriers (CoO) were formed by the thermal oxidation at room temperature in an O$_2$ atmosphere and the plasma oxidation. The increase of coercive field due to antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic coupling has been observed in O$_2$plasma-oxidized CoO based junctions at room temperature. At a sensing current of 1 mA, MR ratios of O$_2$plasma-oxidized CoO based junction and thermal-oxidized CoO based junction at room temperature were 1% and 5%, respectively. Larger MR ratios are observed in magnetic tunnel juctions with thermal oxidized CoO when sensing current more than applied 1.5 mA. At a sensing current of 1.5 mA, we have observed MR value of 28 % and specific resistance (RA=R$\times$A) value of 10.9 ㏀$\times$㎛$^2$. When specific resistance values reached 2.28 ㏀$\times$㎛$^2$, we have observed that MR ratios become as high as 120%.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.184-187
• /
• 2013

The influence of insertion of an ultra-thin Cu-Phthalocyanine (CuPc) between MgO barrier and ferromagnetic layer in magnetic tunnel juctions (MTJs) was investigated. In order to understand the relation between the electronic and structural properties of Fe${\backslash}$MgO${\backslash}$CuPc, the surface (or interface) analysis was carried out systematically by using spin polarized metastable He de-excited spectroscopy for the CuPc films grown on the Si(001)${\backslash}$5 nm MgO(001)${\backslash}$7 nm Fe(001)${\backslash}$1.6 nm MgO(001) multilayer structure as the thickness of CuPc increases from 0 to 5 nm. In particular, for the 1.6 nm CuPc surface, a rather strong spin asymmetry between up- and down-spin band appears while it becomes weaker or disappears for the CuPc films thinner or thicker than ~1.6 nm. Our results emphasize the importance of the interfacial electronic properties of organic layers in the spin transport of the hybrid MTJs.