Affiliation:
1. Institut für Physik, Universität Greifswald 1 , Greifswald, Germany
2. INL—International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory 2 , Avenida Mestre José Veiga, s/n, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal
3. ICELab, Aarhus University 3 , Aarhus, Denmark
Abstract
We have developed and optimized two categories of spin-ransfer torque magnetic tunnel junctions (STT-MTJs) that exhibit a high tunnel magnetoresistance ratio, low critical current, high outputpower in the micro-watt range, and auto-oscillation behavior. These characteristics demonstrate the potential of STT-MTJs for low-power, high-speed, and reliable spintronic applications, including magnetic memory, logic, and signal processing. The only distinguishing factor between the two categories, denoted as A-MTJs and B-MTJs, is the composition of their free layers, two CoFeB/0.21 Ta/6 CoFeSiB for A-MTJs and two CoFeB/0.21 Ta/7 NiFe for B-MTJs. Our study reveals that B-MTJs exhibit lower critical currents for auto-oscillation than A-MTJs. We found that both stacks have comparable saturation magnetization and anisotropy field, suggesting that the difference in auto-oscillation behavior is due to the higher damping of A-MTJs compared to B-MTJs. To verify this hypothesis, we employed the all-optical time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect technique, which confirmed that STT-MTJs with lower damping exhibited auto-oscillation at lower critical current values. Additionally, our study aimed to optimize the STT-MTJ performance by investigating the impact of the capping layer on the device’s response to electronic and optical stimuli.
Funder
european Union Horizon 2020
Subject
General Physics and Astronomy