• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.204-209
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• 2012

We measure the ferromagnetic resonance signals in order to analyze the exchange coupling energy due to the uncompensated antiferromagnetic spins in exchange coupled CoFe/MnIr bilayers. The exchange bias fields ($H_{ex}$) and rotatable anisotropy fields ($H_{ra}$) are obtained from the ferromagnetic resonance fields measured with in-plane angle in thermal annealed samples with $t_{AF}$= 0, 3, and 10 nm. The sum of the $H_{ex}$ and $H_{ra}$ do not depend on the MnIr thickness, which means that all the uncompensated AF spins are aligned to one direction in $300^{\circ}C$ annealed samples. Therefore, the uncompensated AF spins are divided into two different parts. One parts are fixed at the interface between CoFe/MnIr bilayers and induces the $H_{ex}$, other parts are rotatable with magnetic field and induces the $H_{ra}$. Finally, the exchange coupling energy can be expressed by the sum of the exchange bias energy and rotatable anisotropy energy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.77-77
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• 2011

These days, a growing demand for memory device is filled up with the flash memory and the dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Although DRAM is a reasonable solution for current demand, the universal novel memory with high density, high speed and nonvolatility, needs to be developed. Among various new memories, the magnetic random access memory (MRAM) device is considered as one of good candidate memories because of excellent features including high density, high speed, low operating power and nonvolatility. The etching of MTJ stack which is composed of magnetic materials and insulator such as MgO is one of the vital process for MRAM. Recently, MgO has attracted great interest in the MTJ stack as tunneling barrier layer for its high tunneling magnetoresistance values. For the successful realization of high density MRAM, the etching process of MgO thin films should be investigated. Until now, there were some works devoted to the investigations on etch characteristics of MgO thin films. Initially, ion milling was applied to the etching of MgO thin films. However, ion milling has many disadvantages such as sidewall redeposition and etching damage. High density plasma etching containing the magnetically enhanced reactive ion etching and high density reactive ion etching have been employed for the improvement of etching process. In this work, inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICPRIE) system was adopted for the improvement of etching process using MgO thin films and etching gas mixes of $CH_4$/Ar and $CH_4$/$O_2$/Ar have been employed. The etch rates are measured by a surface profilometer and etch profiles are observed using field emission scanning emission microscopy (FESEM). The effects of gas concentration and etch parameters such as coil rf power, dc-bias voltage to substrate, and gas pressure on etch characteristics will be systematically explored.

• Electrical & Electronic Materials
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.229-236
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• 1995

Multimedia has created a system environment that needs a combination of diverse peripherals, faster I/O, and easier configuration. The sheer volume of data one can expect with multimedia hardware and applications storage systems of higher capacity and faster data transfer rate. Unlike the magneto-optical(MO)disk technology which uses bias magnetic field in writing, both the reading and the writing in the phase change (PC) technology are performed only by laser light. In PC optical media, an active layer is reversibly converted between amorphous state and crystalline state by changing irradiation conditions of focused laser beam. Thus, as compared with MO disk, the PC disk has such great advantages that signals can be reproduced by change of reflectance of laser beams in the same manner as the compact disc. The reflectivity of a phase-change spot can be altered in a single pass under the head only through modulation of laser power. The principles and the current status of phase-change optical recording media combined with possible applications are discussed in the present article.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.108-110
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• 2006

We successfully enhanced the performance of a spin valve by inserting an ultra-thin layer of partially oxidized Fe in the pinned and free layers. With the exchange bias field kept large, the spin valve reached a GMR of 12%, which corresponded to a 55% increase in GMR when we compared it with that of spin valves without any inserted layer. The layer of partially oxidized Fe was more effective for improving the properties of the spin valve than the layer of partially oxidized $Co_{90}Fe_{10}$. Considering all the results, we can contribute the significant improvement to the combined effect of the modified local electronic structures at the Fe impurities and theenhanced spin-dependent reflections at the $\alpha-Fe_{2}O_{3} phase in the magnetic layer.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.12-12
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• 2010

By using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S), we can make images of various physical properties in nanometer-scale spatial resolutions. Here, I demonstrate imaging of two electron-correlated subjects; screening and superconductivity by STM/S. The electrostatic potential around a charge is described with the Coulomb potential. When the charge is located in a metal, the potential is modified because of the free electrons in the host. The potential modification, called screening, is one of the fundamental phenomena in the condensed matter physics. Using low-temperature STM we have developed a method to measure electrostatic potential in high spatial and energy resolutions, and observed the potential around external charges screened by two-dimensional surface electronic states. Characteristic potential decay and the Friedel oscillation were clearly observed around the charges [1]. Superconductivity of nano-size materials, whose dimensions are comparable with the coherence length, is quite different from their bulk. We investigated superconductivity of ultra-thin Pb islands by directly measuring the superconducting gaps using STM. The obtained tunneling spectra exhibit a variation of zero bias conductance (ZBC) with a magnetic field, and spatial mappings of ZBC revealed the vortex formation [2]. Size dependence of the vortex formation will be discussed at the presentation.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.67-73
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• 2000

Top spin valve samples with a structure Ta/NiFe/CoFe/Cu/CoFe/FeMn/Ta were deposited on a Si(100) substrate by changing d.c. magnetron sputtering conditions and the exchange-bias and magnetic properties of samples were investigated. The Exchange field, H$\_$ex/ increased with increase of sputtering power of FeMn from 30 to 150 W and CoFe from 30 to 100 W deposited on the Cu, the increase of H$\_$ex/ was found due to the improvement of preferred orientation of (111) FeMn phase from XRD results. In the case of Cu, H$\_$ex/ decreased with the increase of sputtering pressure ranging from 1 to 5 mTorr. The relationship between exchange field and resistance was investigated, spin valve samples with a large exchange field showed the lower resistance, which was strongly dependent on the good crystallinity and grain size increase as well as lower scattering effects. The Cu thickness was changed from 22 to 38 $\AA$ for Si/Ta/NiFe/CoFe/Cu(t), 30 W/CoFe, 100 W/FeMn, 100 W/Ta spin valve structures, MR ratio of 6.5 % and exchange field of about 190 Oe were obtained for the sample with Cu of 22 $\AA$ thickness. The increase of exchange field with decrease of Cu thickness was explained by FM/AFM spin-spin interaction.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.196-196
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• 2012

Graphene, two-dimensional one-atom-thick planar sheet of carbon atoms densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice, has grabbled appreciable attention due to its extraordinary mechanical, thermal, electrical, and optical properties. Based on the graphene's high carrier mobility, high frequency graphene field effect transistors have been developed. Graphene is useful for photonic components as well as for the applications in electronic devices. Graphene's unique optical properties allowed us to develop ultra wide-bandwidth optical modulator, photo-detector, and broadband polarizer. Graphene can support SPP-like surface wave because it is considered as a two-dimensional metal-like systems. The SPPs are associated with the coupling between collective oscillation of free electrons in the metal and electromagnetic waves. The charged free carriers in the graphene contribute to support the surface waves at the graphene-dielectric interface by coupling to the electromagnetic wave. In addition, graphene can control the surface waves because its charge carrier density is tunable by means of a chemical doping method, varying the Fermi level by applying gate bias voltage, and/or applying magnetic field. As an extended application of graphene in photonics, we investigated the characteristics of the graphene-based plasmonic waveguide for optical signal transmission. The graphene strips embedded in a dielectric are served as a high-frequency optical signal guiding medium. The TM polarization wave is transmitted 6 mm-long graphene waveguide with the averaged extinction ratio of 19 dB at the telecom wavelength of $1.31{\mu}m$. 2.5 Gbps data transmission was successfully accomplished with the graphene waveguide. Based on these experimental results, we concluded that the graphene-based plasmonic waveguide can be exploited further for development of next-generation integrated photonic circuits on a chip.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.36-41
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• 2009

Magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometry was used to investigate magnetization reversal dynamics in 30-nm NiFe/15-nm FeMn, 15-nm FeMn/30-nm CoFe bilayers, and 30-nm NiFe/(2,10)-nm FeMn/30-nm CoFe trilayers. The in-plane magnetization components of each ferromagnetic layer, both parallel and perpendicular to the applied field, were separately determined by measuring the longitudinal and transverse MOKE hysteresis loops from both the front and back sides of the film for an oblique incident s-polarized beam. The magnetization of the FeMn/CoFe bilayer was reversed abruptly and symmetrically through nucleation and domain wall propagation, while that of the NiFe/FeMn bilayer was reversed asymmetrically with a dominant rotation. In the NiFe/FeMn/CoFe trilayers, the magnetic reversal of the two ferromagnetic layers proceeded via nucleation and domain wall propagation for 2-nm FeMn, but via asymmetric rotation for 10-nm FeMn. The exchange-biased ferromagnetic layers showed the magnetization reversal along the same path in the film plane for the decreasing and increasing field branches from transverse MOKE hysteresis loops, which can be qualitatively explained by the theoretical model of the exchange-biased ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic systems.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.67-73
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• 2015

This is a basic research for improving soft magnetic property of Fe based nano crystalline alloy powder core. The main study is done around characteristics of permeability, core loss, and DC bias depending on amount of insulation coating agent and particle size. First, $Fe_{73.5}Si_{13.5}B_9Nb_3Cu_1$ amorphous alloy ribbon was fabricated by using the planar flow casting (PFC) device. Then, heat treatment and ball milling were done to obtain alloy powder. The amount of polyether imide (PEI) added to it was varied by 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 2.5 wt% to have compression molding into $16ton/cm^2$. After going through crystalline heat treatment, the made toroidal nano crystalline powder core ($OD12.7mm^*ID7.62mm^*H4.75mm$) had smaller permeability as amount of insulation coating agent decreases. However, it was found out that core loss and DC bias characteristics have been improved. The reason for this results were expected to be because green density of power core decreases as amorphous alloy powder particles become smaller as amount of alloy powder insulation coating agent increases, it was determined that 1 wt% of insulation coating agent is appropriate. Also, for powder core made based on alloy powder size with amount of insulation coating agent fixed at 1 wt%, effective permeability and core loss were outstanding as particle size became bigger. However, characteristics of DC bias became worse as applied DC field increases. This is expected to be due to insulation effect, residual pores, or molding density of powder core resulting from thickness of coating on surface of alloy powder.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.120-123
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• 2007

The typical double-barrier magnetic tunnel junction (DMTJ) structure examined in this paper consists of a Ta 45/Ru 9.5/IrMn 10/CoFe7/$AlO_x$/free layer/AlO/CoFe 7/IrMn 10/Ru 60 (nm). The free layer consists of an $Ni_{16}Fe_{62}Si_8B_{14}$ 7 nm, $Co_{90}Fe_{10}$ (fcc) 7 nm, or CoFe $t_1$/NiFeSiB $t_2$/CoFe $t_1$ layer in which the thicknesses $t_1$ and $t_2$ are varied. The DMTJ with an NiFeSiB-free layer had a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) of 28%, an area-resistance product (RA) of $86\;k{\Omega}{\mu}m^2$, a coercivity ($H_c$) of 11 Oe, and an interlayer coupling field ($H_i$) of 20 Oe. To improve the TMR ratio and RA, a DMTJ comprising an amorphous NiFeSiB layer that could partially substitute for the CoFe free layer was investigated. This hybrid DMTJ had a TMR of 30%, an RA of $68\;k{\Omega}{\mu}m^2$, and a of 11 Oe, but an increased of 37 Oe. We confirmed by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy that increased as the thickness of NiFeSiB decreased. When the amorphous NiFeSiB layer was thick, it was effective in retarding the columnar growth which usually induces a wavy interface. However, if the NiFeSiB layer was thin, the roughness was increased and became large because of the magnetostatic $N{\acute{e}}el$ coupling.