Magnetic tunnel junction device
First Claim
1. A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device, comprising:
- a first electrode comprising a first ferromagnetic material layer that includes Co, Fe, and B;
a barrier layer disposed over the first electrode, the barrier layer comprising a magnesium oxide (MgO) layer that is formed of a poly-crystalline MgO in which a (001) crystal plane is preferentially oriented; and
a second electrode disposed over the barrier layer and comprising a second ferromagnetic material layer that includes Co, Fe, and B, andwherein each of the first and second ferromagnetic material layers is entirely crystallized,. andwherein a value of x in MgOx for the MgO layer is greater than 0 and less than 1.
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Abstract
The output voltage of an MRAM is increased by means of an Fe(001)/MgO(001)/Fe(001) MTJ device, which is formed by microfabrication of a sample prepared as follows: A single-crystalline MgO (001) substrate is prepared. An epitaxial Fe(001) lower electrode (a first electrode) is grown on a MgO(001) seed layer at room temperature, followed by annealing under ultrahigh vacuum. A MgO(001) barrier layer is epitaxially formed on the Fe(001) lower electrode (the first electrode) at room temperature, using a MgO electron-beam evaporation. A Fe(001) upper electrode (a second electrode) is then formed on the MgO(001) barrier layer at room temperature. This is successively followed by the deposition of a Co layer on the Fe(001) upper electrode (the second electrode). The Co layer is provided so as to increase the coercive force of the upper electrode in order to realize an antiparallel magnetization alignment.
79 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device, comprising:
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a first electrode comprising a first ferromagnetic material layer that includes Co, Fe, and B; a barrier layer disposed over the first electrode, the barrier layer comprising a magnesium oxide (MgO) layer that is formed of a poly-crystalline MgO in which a (001) crystal plane is preferentially oriented; and a second electrode disposed over the barrier layer and comprising a second ferromagnetic material layer that includes Co, Fe, and B, and wherein each of the first and second ferromagnetic material layers is entirely crystallized,. and wherein a value of x in MgOx for the MgO layer is greater than 0 and less than 1. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device, comprising:
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a first electrode made of a first CoFeB layer; a barrier layer made of a magnesium oxide (MgO) layer that is a poly-crystalline layer in which a (001) crystal plane is preferentially oriented; and a second electrode made of a second CoFeB layer, and wherein the barrier layer is located between the first electrode and the second electrode, and wherein both the first and second CoFeB layers are entirely crystallized, and wherein a value of x in MgOx for the MgO layer is greater than 0 and less than 1. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device, comprising:
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a first ferromagnetic material layer that includes Co, Fe, and B; a barrier layer disposed on the first ferromagnetic material layer, the barrier layer comprising a magnesium oxide (MgO) layer that is a poly-crystalline MgO in which (001) crystal plane is preferentially oriented; and a second ferromagnetic material layer that is disposed on the barrier layer and includes Co, Fe, and B, and wherein each of the first and second ferromagnetic material layers is entirely crystallized, and wherein a value of x in MgOx for the MgO layer is greater than 0 and less than 1. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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Specification