DOUBLE SPIN FILTER TUNNEL JUNCTION

• US 20170352803A1
• Filed: 08/25/2017
• Published: 12/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Worledge, Daniel C.
• Granted Patent: US 11,309,488 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/161 details concerning the memory cell structure, e.g. the layers of the ferromagnetic memory cell
• CPC Class Codes: H10B 61/00 Magnetic memory devices, e.g. magnetoresistive RAM [MRAM] devices
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 50/01 Manufacture or treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 50/10 Magnetoresistive devices
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 50/80 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 50/85 Magnetic active materials

Abstract

A memory device that includes a first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer present on a first non-magnetic metal electrode, and a free magnetic metal layer present on the first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer. A second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer may be present on the free magnetic metal layer, and a second non-magnetic metal electrode may be present on the second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier. The first and second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layers are arranged so that their magnetizations are aligned to be anti-parallel.

Claims

1. A memory device comprising:

a first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer;

a second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer on the first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer, the first and second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layers each having magnetizations; and

a free magnetic metal layer disposed between the first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer and the second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer.

2. The memory device of claim 1, further comprising a first metal electrode in direct contact with the first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer.

3. The memory device of claim 2, further comprising a second metallic electrode in direct contact with the second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer.

4. The memory device of claim 3, wherein at least one of the first metal electrode and the second metallic electrode is non-magnetic.

5. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer comprises cobalt iron oxide (CoFeOx) or CoFeAOx, wherein A may be any element selected from the group consisting of beryllium (Be), boron (B), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), calcium (Ca), scandium (Sc), titanium (ti), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), yttria (Y), zirconia (Zr), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), technetium (Tc), ruthenium (Ru), rhenium (Rh), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), lutetium (Lu), hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), rhenium (Re), osmium (Os), iridium (Jr), platinum (Pt), gold (Au) mercury (Hg), and combinations thereof.

6. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the free magnetic metal layer comprises CoFeB.

7. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the free magnetic metal layer comprises alloys and/or multilayers including elements selected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, Co, Cr, V, Mn, Pd, Pt, B, O, N and combinations thereof.

8. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer comprises cobalt iron oxide (CoFeOx) or CoFeAOx, wherein A may be any element selected from the group consisting of beryllium (Be), boron (B), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), calcium (Ca), scandium (Sc), titanium (ti), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), yttria (Y), zirconia (Zr), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), technetium (Tc), ruthenium (Ru), rhenium (Rh), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), lutetium (Lu), hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), rhenium (Re), osmium (Os), iridium (Jr), platinum (Pt), gold (Au) mercury (Hg), and combinations thereof.

9. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer, the free magnetic metal layer, and the second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer provide a magnetic tunnel junction (MJT).

10. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier layer is in direct contact with a first side of the free magnetic metal layer and the second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier layer is in direct contact with a second side of the free magnetic metal layer.

11. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer includes a magnetization in a first direction.

12. The memory device of claim 11, wherein the magnetization in the first direction ranges from 50 emu/cm³ to 600 emu/cm³.

13. The memory device of claim 11, wherein the second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer includes a magnetization in a second direction opposite the first direction.

14. A spin torque transfer magnetic random access memory device comprising a magnetic tunnel junction stack between a pair of electrodes, wherein the magnetic tunnel junction stack comprises a first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer on a first face of a free magnetic metal layer.

15. The spin torque transfer magnetic random access memory device of claim 14, wherein the first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer is in direct contact with the first face of the free magnetic metal layer, and a non-magnetic insulating tunnel barrier and a magnetic metallic reference layer is present on a second face of the free magnetic metal layer opposite the first face of the free magnetic metal layer, the non-magnetic insulating tunnel barrier being disposed between the free magnetic metal layer and the magnetic metallic reference layer.

16. The spin torque transfer magnetic random access memory device of claim 14, further comprising a second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer in direct contact with a second face of the free magnetic metal layer, wherein the first and second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layers are arranged so that their magnetizations are aligned to be anti-parallel.

17. The spin torque transfer magnetic random access memory device of claim 16, wherein the first magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer comprises cobalt iron oxide (CoFeOx) or CoFeAOx, wherein A may be any element selected from the group consisting of beryllium (Be), boron (B), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), calcium (Ca), scandium (Sc), titanium (ti), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), yttria (Y), zirconia (Zr), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), technetium (Tc), ruthenium (Ru), rhenium (Rh), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), lutetium (Lu), hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), rhenium (Re), osmium (Os), iridium (Jr), platinum (Pt), gold (Au) mercury (Hg), and combinations thereof.

18. The spin torque transfer magnetic random access memory device of claim 16, wherein the free magnetic metal layer comprises CoFeB.

19. The spin torque transfer magnetic random access memory device of claim 16, wherein the free magnetic metal layer comprises alloys and/or multilayers including elements selected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, Co, Cr, V, Mn, Pd, Pt, B, O, N and combinations thereof.

20. The spin torque transfer magnetic random access memory device of claim 16, wherein the second magnetic insulating tunnel barrier reference layer comprises cobalt iron oxide (CoFeOx) or CoFeAOx, wherein A may be any element selected from the group consisting of beryllium (Be), boron (B), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), calcium (Ca), scandium (Sc), titanium (ti), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), yttria (Y), zirconia (Zr), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), technetium (Tc), ruthenium (Ru), rhenium (Rh), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), lutetium (Lu), hafnium (Hf), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), rhenium (Re), osmium (Os), iridium (Jr), platinum (Pt), gold (Au) mercury (Hg), and combinations thereof.