MgO-Based Tunnel Spin Injectors
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- forming a MgO tunnel barrier on a surface of an underlayer;
forming an overlayer on the MgO tunnel barrier to construct a spintronic element, with one of the underlayer and the overlayer including a layer of semiconductor material, and the other of the underlayer and the overlayer including a layer of magnetic material selected from the group consisting of ferromagnetic materials and ferrimagnetic materials, andannealing the MgO tunnel barrier at a temperature selected to improve its tunneling characteristics, whereini) the MgO tunnel barrier is sandwiched between the underlayer and the overlayer, andii) the first layer, the MgO tunnel barrier, and the second layer are configured to enable spin-polarized charge carrier transport between the semiconductor material and the magnetic material,said forming a MgO tunnel barrier including;
depositing Mg onto the surface of the underlayer to form a Mg layer thereon; and
directing additional Mg, in the presence of oxygen, towards the Mg layer to form a MgO tunnel barrier in contact with the underlayer, the oxygen reacting with the additional Mg and the Mg layer.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A MgO tunnel barrier is sandwiched between semiconductor material on one side and a ferri- and/or ferromagnetic material on the other side to form a spintronic element. The semiconductor material may include GaAs, for example. The spintronic element may be used as a spin injection device by injecting charge carriers from the magnetic material into the MgO tunnel barrier and then into the semiconductor. Similarly, the spintronic element may be used as a detector or analyzer of spin-polarized charge carriers by flowing charge carriers from the surface of the semiconducting layer through the MgO tunnel barrier and into the (ferri- or ferro-) magnetic material, which then acts as a detector. The MgO tunnel barrier is preferably formed by forming a Mg layer on an underlayer (e.g., a ferromagnetic layer), and then directing additional Mg, in the presence of oxygen, towards the underlayer.
15 Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A method, comprising:
-
forming a MgO tunnel barrier on a surface of an underlayer; forming an overlayer on the MgO tunnel barrier to construct a spintronic element, with one of the underlayer and the overlayer including a layer of semiconductor material, and the other of the underlayer and the overlayer including a layer of magnetic material selected from the group consisting of ferromagnetic materials and ferrimagnetic materials, and annealing the MgO tunnel barrier at a temperature selected to improve its tunneling characteristics, wherein i) the MgO tunnel barrier is sandwiched between the underlayer and the overlayer, and ii) the first layer, the MgO tunnel barrier, and the second layer are configured to enable spin-polarized charge carrier transport between the semiconductor material and the magnetic material, said forming a MgO tunnel barrier including; depositing Mg onto the surface of the underlayer to form a Mg layer thereon; and
directing additional Mg, in the presence of oxygen, towards the Mg layer to form a MgO tunnel barrier in contact with the underlayer, the oxygen reacting with the additional Mg and the Mg layer.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification