Applications using FeRh for controllable exchange coupling of two magnetic layers with in-plane and out-of-plane anisotropies require ultrathin (∼10 nm) films with pure antiferromagnetic (AF) FeRh α″ phase at room temperature (RT). However, it is also well known that the antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic (AF-FM) transition of FeRh is sensitive to composition and deteriorates at low thicknesses. Hence, in this work, we study the composition-dependent phase ordering of co-sputtered FeRh thin films at ultrathin thicknesses of ∼10 nm. As the ultrathin films get richer in Rh, the appearance of α″ phase is typically characterized magnetically by a sudden drop in RT moment, and structurally by a slight decrease in degree of B2 chemical ordering with a sharp decrease in c-axis lattice constant. These observations are consistent with the FeRh phase diagram where FeRh abruptly enters the AF α″ phase once it becomes slightly disordered. Dependences of magnetic transition parameters on composition were also described. Moreover, higher sputtering powers possibly allow the formation of purer α″ phase with less γ-face centered cubic phase impurities. Consequently, a composition optimized 10 nm film shows a relatively low residual moment (13.5 emu/cc), thus suggesting good AF phase formation. In addition, correlation of the magnetic transition parameters with the crystal structural parameters reveal that the maximum rate of AF-FM transition (Rmax,h) and the corresponding total change in magnetization (ΔMh) interestingly shows linear dependence on the c-axis lattice constant, but would depart from this linearity under certain conditions, i.e., when grain sizes were large, crystallinity was improved and Fe content was high.

We demonstrate an electric-field-tunable magnetic-field-sensor based on CoFeB/MgO magnetic tunnel junction with interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). From the dynamic lock-in measurements, we show that an applied electric-field induces a peak in sensor voltage (VSENSOR) around the free layer magnetization switching regime in response to external a.c. magnetic field. Detailed measurements of VSENSOR as functions of free layer thickness, a.c. magnetic field amplitude and frequency reveal that the sensitivity of the sensor can be up to 80.8 V cm−1 Oe−1 under −0.5 V, which can be controlled by the strength and polarity of the applied electric-field via electric-field controlled PMA. We discuss the origin of our observations based on the oscillations in the tunnel magnetoresistance, and this may trigger the development of magnetoelectrically controlled magnetic-field-sensor based on magnetic tunnel junctions.

this article, we investigate the effect of electric-field on the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and strain properties in nanoscaled CoFeB/MgO magnetic tunnel junction using tunnel magnetoresistance and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) measurements, respectively. We show that while the PMA change under electric-field is consistent with the previous reports, the PFM data show that the applied electric-field induces strain in a nanoscaled MgO. We demonstrate that the development of compressive and tensile strains corresponding to different polarities of applied electric-field. We discuss the interplay between the electric-field controlled PMA and strain properties. Our results may accelerate the development of magnetoelectrically controlled spintronic devices for low-power and high-density magnetic data storage applications. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

We studied the spin torque switching in dual MgO layer based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) by incorporating an ultra-thin (0.5 nm) Ta layer at the CoFeB free layer/top MgO layer interface. The Ta incorporated MTJ showed a significant reduction (∼30%) in critical switching current density (JC0 ) as compared to that of the control MTJ whilst maintaining the same tunneling magnetoresistance as well as thermal stability. The reduction of JC0 can be attributed to the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy arising from the incorporation of an ultrathin Ta layer with the MgO|CoFeB structure. This scheme of reducing JC0 without degrading other properties may contribute to the development of spin-transfer-torque magnetic random access memory for low power applications

The effects of electroplating current density on microwave properties of CoFe film are experimentally revealed. The current density is found to heavily affect the particle size, nanomorphology, and chemical composition of the magnetic thin film, which in turn determines the coercivity, anisotropy, and magnetic moment of the films. Although differing optimized current densities are required for different solutions, a film with relatively lower coercivity, higher magnetic moment and anisotropy could be prepared using the optimized current density from each solution. This results in the film with larger magnetic permeability and resonant frequency, which is in accordance with the assumptions based on Snoek’s Law. Hence, a soft CoFe film with unique good microwave properties could be achieved from each CoFe-salt-based solution. The as-prepared films are suitable for the applications in high gigahertz frequency microwaves.

Several materials (Ta, Cu, Al, Ru) are investigated for the gap layer (GL) in a differential dual spin valve (DDSV) as a function of GL thickness in terms of the differential effect and interlayer coupling. High field measurements in current in the plane geometry show that similar GMR effect can be obtained for two spin valves (SVs) with Ta, Ru, and Cu GLs, while for Al GL, GMR ratio of the upper SV decreases as Al thickness increases. For Ta GL, the two free layers (FLs) may switch either simultaneously or separately, depending on which FL switches first due to the weak ferromagnetic (FM) Neel coupling between the FLs. For Ru GL, the switching behavior depends on the thickness of Ru, due to the oscillation of interlayer exchange coupling. Cu GL causes additional GMR resulted from the FL/GL/FL structure. Detailed investigation on thickness dependence of Ru GL shows that FM interlayer coupling is achieved with Ru thickness of 1.6, 2.4, and 4 nm. The good differential effect can be obtained till Ru = 8 nm, above which MR of the upper SV decreases. Patterned DDSV sensors with Ru GL = 2.4 nm shows an overall FM coupling between the FLs, implying FM exchange coupling is larger than the antiferromagnetic magnetostatic coupling at edges.

Highly ordered B2 FeRh films with sharp magnetic transitions from the antiferromagnetic (AF) to ferromagnetic (FM) states were prepared on thermally oxidized Si wafers with thicknesses as low as 10 nm. It is found that the transition temperature increases as the thickness decreases from 80 nm to 15 nm, and then decreases from 15 nm to 10 nm. While the ratio of the residual magnetization to the maximum magnetization keeps nearly unchanged for the film thickness of 15 nm and larger, it increases significantly when the thickness is reduced to 10 nm. This residual magnetization was suppressed by slightly increasing the Rh atomic content in 10 nm thick FeRh films. Low-pressure deposition is found to play an important role in the stabilization of the AF phase. By depositing FeRh films at an extremely low pressure of 0.057 Pa, a residual magnetization as small as 13.5 emu/cc at 100 K was observed for a film with a nominal thickness of 10 nm deposited on Si wafer. This value was further reduced to 6 emu/cc when the film is deposited on MgO substrates due to much improved FeRh crystallinity. These results are in close agreement with theoretical predictions on defect and interface induced FM stabilization.

A novel approach to the fabrication of metal-cell-metal trilayer memory devices was demonstrated by using only two cycles of lithography and dry-etch procedures. The fabricated ultrahigh density crossbar devices can be scaled down to ≤70 nm in half-pitch without alignment issues. Depending on the different dry-etch mechanisms in transferring high and low density nanopatterns, suitable dry-etch angles and methods are studied for the transfer of high density nanopatterns. Some novel process methods have also been developed to eliminate the sidewall and other conversion obstacles for obtaining high density of uniform metallic nanopatterns. With these methods, ultrahigh density trilayer crossbar devices (~2 × 10(10) bit cm(-2)-kilobit electronic memory), which are composed of built-in practical magnetoresistive nanocells, have been achieved. This scalable process that we have developed provides the relevant industries with a cheap means to commercially fabricate three-dimensional high density metal-cell-metal nanodevices.

This paper presents magnetic properties of highly ordered ultrathin FeRh films deposited on Si/SiO wafers with MgO as a buffer layer. The antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic (FM) transition is observed with a thickness as low as 3 nm. However, as the thickness decreases, the residual magnetization (Mrs) at low temperature increases and the amplitude of the transition decreases. In addition, the transition becomes much broader for the thinner films. This broadening is related to the grain size reduction in the thinner films. The temperature dependence of the magnetization of a highly ordered B2 FeRh film with a thickness of 10 nm was carefully measured as a function of field. The results show that the transition temperature decreases almost linearly with a rate of 0.93 K/kOe (heating) and 0.97 K/kOe (cooling) close to the value for the bulk samples, while Mrs obtained at 100 K increases rapidly at low field and then linearly at a field larger than 10 kOe, which clearly demonstrates that an applied field would induce FM stabilization in ultrathin FeRh films.

Magnetoelectric coupling between magnetic and electric dipoles is one of the cornerstones of modern physics towards developing the most energy-efficient magnetic data storage. Conventionally, magnetoelectric coupling is achieved in single-phase multiferroics or in magnetoelectric composite nanostructures consisting of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric/piezoelectric materials. Here, we demonstrate an electric-field-induced strain-mediated magnetoelectric effect in ultrathin CoFeB/MgO magnetic tunnel junction employing non-piezoelectric material, which is a vitally important structure for spintronic devices, by using dynamical magnetoelectric and piezoresponse force microscopy measurement techniques. We show that the applied electric-field induces strain in a few atomic layers of dielectric MgO which is transferred to magnetostrictive CoFeB layer, resulting in a magnetoelectric effect of magnitude up to 80.8 V cm-1 Oe-1 under -0.5 V. The demonstrated strain-mediated magnetoelectric effect with an electric field in magnetic tunnel junctions is a significant step towards exploring magnetoelectrically controlled spintronic devices for low-power and high density magnetic data storage applications.

We examine the effect of junction sizes on the magnetization reversal process and spin-transfer torque switching of the MgO-based CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). From the magnetic field transport measurements, it was found that the miniaturization of MTJs inherently enhances the switching asymmetry and the PMA of the soft layer. Our micromagnetic simulations confirmed that the dipolar field from the hard layer is responsible for the switching asymmetry and the increase in perpendicular shape anisotropy induces improvement of the PMA. It was further revealed that this additional anisotropy gained from the smaller MTJ sizes is not sufficient to sustain the thermal stability to meet the long-term information storage at the state-of-the-art complementary-metal–oxide semiconductor technology node. The pulsed spin-transfer torque measurements showed that a higher current density is needed to switch the magnetization of the soft layer in MTJ with smaller lateral dimensions, which is attributed to the increase in PMA.

For future magnetic recording, one challenge is that the shield to shield spacing (SSS) of readers cannot be scaled down to achieve the linear density requirement. A differential dual spin valve (DDSV) has been proposed to improve the linear resolution as it does not rely on the magnetic shields to diminish the interference from adjacent bits. The side reading becomes more and more challenging as the track width shrinks to below SSS to accommodate high track density, in particular for a DDSV reader in which no magnetic shield or larger SSS is used. A self-biased DDSV structure is proposed to replace the conventional abutted junction stabilization scheme. In the self-biased DDSV readers, two side shields are put at the both sides of the sensor across the track direction in the replacement of the hard bias (HB). The stray fields from the two free layers in the DDSV sensor bias each other to stabilize the domain structure of the free layers. Preliminary analysis shows that the self-bias DDSV is also robust against the spin torque-induced magnetic instability. Simulation results indicate that the self-biased DDSV reader has much better reading sensitivity for the opposing fields generated by magnetic transitions than HB-stabilized sensor. It is found that for DDSV readers, the mag-noise is less significant due to a larger signal field and thicker free layer. Current perpendicular to the plane (CPP)-DDSV sensors have been fabricated and show very good differential effect in the real operating mode. The magnetoresistance performance of individual spin valve in CPP-DDSV sensors has been obtained through measurements with applied field and pinning field parallel to the easy axis of the free layer.

We present results of our first principle and experimental study on new Heusler alloys candidates for half-metallic electrode and nonmagnetic spacer in current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magneto-resistance devices. The electronic structures of Fe2CrSi and Cu2CrAl are characterized by high density of states at the Fermi level in the majority spin band with a good match in their majority band structures near the Fermi level. The calculated interfacial spin polarization in Fe2CrSi/Cu2CrAl (100) superlattice is ∼80%. We have also epitaxially grown ferromagnetic A2 Fe-Cr-Si and nonmagnetic L21 Cu-Cr-Al (100) films on Cr-buffered MgO(100) substrates.

Recently, a differential dual spin valve (DDSV) has been proposed to enhance the downtrack resolution for the application in the hard disk drive recording at 10 Tb/in2 and beyond. The following key issues for the implementation of a high-quality DDSV have been addressed. I. Formation of the antiparallel arrangement of the reference magnetization of two spin valves (SVs) with high pinning stability. II. Differential effect of a DDSV. To achieve perfect differential effect in a DDSV, not only should two SVs have the same giant magnetoresistance effect, but their free-layer (FL) magnetization should also respond to a field identically. Using 2.4 nm ruthenium as the gap layer to form a ferromagnetic interlayer coupling between FLs, a good differential effect is achieved. III. Quasistatic characterization of a DDSV. As there is no output from a DDSV under a uniform field, it would be difficult to evaluate performances of a DDSV. By varying the annealing field direction, field response of each SV as well as differential effect can be identified.

As a differential dual spin valve (DDSV) consists of two SVs separated by a gap layer, in addition to the interlayer couplings between the free layer (FL) and its reference layer in each SV, it is important to understand the interaction between the two FLs and its effect on reading performances. Systematical studies on FL’s switching behavior have been performed in both thin films and small devices. For thin-film samples, FL’s switching is governed by interlayer couplings while for a patterned DDSV device it is dominated by the strong magnetostatic edge coupling of the two FLs.

We present the thickness effects of CoFeB free layer on tunnelling magnetoresistive (TMR), perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and spin-transfer torque (STT) in CoFeB–MgO based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). It is found that a post-annealing process could significantly improve both TMR and PMA of the MTJ systems. When the free layer thickness is reduced from 1.3 nm to 1 nm, TMR continuously decays from 80% to 20%. On the other hand, PMA is maximized for a 1.28 nm free layer, above which demagnetization becomes stronger and results in lower PMA. If the free layer thickness is very small, dead layer effect could damage interfacial perpendicular anisotropy and PMA is reduced as a consequence. For STT-induced magnetization switching, the lowest intrinsic critical switching current density (J c0) of 2.1 MA cm−2 is achieved at a free layer thickness of 1.16 nm, accompanied by a TMR of 52% and product of resistance and area (RA) of 16 Ω µm2. Further increasing the free layer thickness will first enhance J c0 and then reduce it due to the balance between PMA and the total free layer volume. STT studies suggest that the CoFeB free layer thickness should be optimized to make a trade-off among large PMA, high TMR and low switching current density in perpendicular CoFeB–MgO MTJ systems.

Field dependence of low frequency noise in tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) heads with different barrier materials of TiO2, Al2O3, and MgO has been studied. It is found that for MgO-TMR heads, the noise amplitude increases as the sensor is driven from parallel to antiparallel magnetization configurations. However, this field dependence of the noise is not magnetic in origin and can be accounted for by the coherent tunneling mechanism in MgO-TMR heads. For TiO2- and Al2O3-TMR heads, low frequency noise is generally independent of magnetic field when the heads are biased properly by hard bias. A noise spike related to a resistance jump in the transfer curve is measured in a head without proper hard bias. Field-dependent low frequency noise is observed for TMR heads without hard bias. The noise amplitude follows the sensitivity function of the sensor and can be attributed to the thermally activated magnetization fluctuations. Spin transfer (ST) effect on low frequency noise was examined by noise measurements of field dependence at different current directions. Extra noise appears when the TMR head is in antiparallel magnetization configurations. The results suggest that the ST-induced extra noise can be either pure 1/f noise or the combination of both 1/f and random telegraph noises.

We studied exchange coupling in the CoFe/Ru/CoFe synthetic antiferromagnetic structure with systematical replacement of the crystalline CoFe with amorphous CoFeB. Antiferromagnetic exchange coupling intensity decreases with an increase in the replacement in the bottom magnetic layer, which indicates that exchange coupling intensity could be tuned by the replacement. The origin of weakening antiferromagnetic exchange coupling is attributed to the amorphous CoFeB replacement inducing incomplete crystallization and disordered orientation in the Ru layer.

Commercial electron beam resists are modified into semimetallic resists by doping with 1-3 nm metal nanoparticles which improve the resolution, contrast, strength, dry etching resistance, and other properties of the resist. With the modified resists fine resist nanopatterns from electron-beam lithography are readily converted into 5-50 nm, high-quality multilayers for metallic nanosensors or nanopatterns via ion-beam etching. This method solves the problem of the fabrication of fine (<50 nm) metallic nanodevices via pattern transferring.