Magnetic tunnel junctions

• US 9,960,346 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2015
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Harms, Jonathan D., Chen, Wei, Murthy, Sunil S., Kula, Witold
• Primary Examiner(s): Hossain, Moazzam
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kilpatrick, Warren H
• Application Number:
  US14/706,182
• Publication Number:
  US 20160329486A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,090 Days
• Field of Search: 257721
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 50/10 Magnetoresistive devices

Abstract

A magnetic tunnel junction has a conductive first magnetic electrode comprising magnetic recording material. A conductive second magnetic electrode is spaced from the first electrode and comprises magnetic reference material. A non-magnetic tunnel insulator material is between the first and second electrodes. The magnetic recording material of the first electrode comprises a first magnetic region, a second magnetic region spaced from the first magnetic region, and a third magnetic region spaced from the first and second magnetic regions. A first non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region is between the first and second magnetic regions. A second non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region is between the second and third magnetic regions. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A magnetic tunnel junction comprising:

a conductive first magnetic electrode comprising magnetic recording material;

a conductive second magnetic electrode spaced from the first electrode and comprising magnetic reference material;

a non-magnetic tunnel insulator material between the first and second electrodes; and

the magnetic recording material of the first electrode comprising a first magnetic region, a second magnetic region spaced from the first magnetic region, and a third magnetic region spaced from the first and second magnetic regions;

a first non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region between the first and second magnetic regions; and

a second non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region between the second and third magnetic regions, the magnetic recording material of the first electrode comprising at least one more magnetic region spaced from the third magnetic region, and comprising at least one more non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region between the third magnetic region and the at least one more magnetic region.

2. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 1 wherein the first and second metal oxide-comprising regions are of the same composition relative one another.

3. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 1 wherein the first and second metal oxide-comprising regions are of different compositions relative one another.

4. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 1 wherein the first and second metal oxide-comprising regions have the same minimum thickness relative one another.

5. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 1 wherein the first and second metal oxide-comprising regions have different minimum thicknesses relative one another.

6. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 1 wherein the first and second metal oxide-comprising regions are of the same composition relative one another and have the same minimum thickness relative one another.

7. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 1 wherein the first metal oxide-comprising region is directly against the first and second magnetic regions.

8. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 1 wherein the second metal oxide-comprising region is directly against the second and third magnetic regions.

10. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 1 being SMTJ.

11. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 1 comprising:

another non-magnetic tunnel insulator material spaced from the second metal oxide-comprising region over the third magnetic region of the magnetic recording material; and

second magnetic reference material over the another non-magnetic tunnel insulator material, the second magnetic reference material comprising magnetic polarizer material proximate the another non-magnetic tunnel insulator material.

12. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 1 wherein the first electrode is on one electrode side of the tunnel insulator material, and comprising a non-magnetic insulator material most-distal from the tunnel insulator material of all insulator materials of the magnetic tunnel junction on the one electrode side, the most-distal insulator material being of the same composition as the tunnel insulator material and having a lower maximum thickness than that of the tunnel insulator material.

9. A magnetic tunnel junction comprising:

a conductive first magnetic electrode comprising magnetic recording material;

a conductive second magnetic electrode spaced from the first electrode and comprising magnetic reference material;

a non-magnetic tunnel insulator material between the first and second electrodes; and

the magnetic recording material of the first electrode comprising a first magnetic region, a second magnetic region spaced from the first magnetic region, and a third magnetic region spaced from the first and second magnetic regions;

a first non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region between the first and second magnetic regions; and

a second non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region between the second and third magnetic regions, the magnetic recording material of the first electrode comprising multiple more magnetic regions spaced from the third magnetic region and one another, and comprising multiple more non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising regions;

one of the multiple more magnetic regions being most-proximate the third magnetic region compared to all others of the multiple more magnetic regions, one of the multiple more metal oxide-comprising regions being between the third magnetic region and said most-proximate magnetic region, all respective other of the multiple metal oxide-comprising regions being between immediately adjacent of the multiple more magnetic regions.

13. A multiple-barrier magnetic tunnel junction comprising:

a conductive first magnetic electrode comprising magnetic recording material;

a conductive second magnetic electrode spaced from the first electrode and comprising first magnetic reference material;

a first non-magnetic tunnel insulator material between the first and second electrodes;

the magnetic recording material of the first electrode comprising a first magnetic region and a second magnetic region spaced from the first magnetic region, a non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region between the first and second magnetic regions, the first magnetic region being more proximate the first non-magnetic tunnel insulator material than the second magnetic region;

a second non-magnetic tunnel insulator material spaced from the first non-magnetic tunnel insulator material over the second magnetic region of the magnetic recording material; and

second magnetic reference material over the second non-magnetic tunnel insulator material, the second magnetic reference material comprising magnetic polarizer material proximate the second non-magnetic tunnel insulator material.

14. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 13 wherein the first and second non-magnetic tunnel insulator materials are of the same composition relative one another.

15. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 13 wherein the first and second non-magnetic tunnel insulator materials are of different compositions relative one another.

16. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 13 wherein the first and second non-magnetic tunnel insulator materials have the same minimum thickness relative one another.

17. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 13 wherein the second first and second non-magnetic tunnel insulator materials have different minimum thicknesses relative one another.

18. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 13 wherein the second non-magnetic tunnel insulator material has a lower minimum thickness than minimum thickness of the first non-magnetic tunnel insulator material.

19. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 13 wherein the metal oxide-comprising region is directly against the first and second magnetic regions.

20. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 13 wherein the magnetic recording material of the first electrode comprises at least one more magnetic region spaced from the second magnetic region, and comprising at least one more non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region between the second magnetic region and the at least one more magnetic region.

21. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 13 wherein the magnetic recording material of the first electrode comprises multiple more magnetic regions spaced from the second magnetic region and one another, and comprising multiple more non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising regions;

one of the multiple more magnetic regions being most-proximate the second magnetic region compared to all others of the multiple more magnetic regions, one of the multiple more metal oxide-comprising regions being between the second magnetic region and said most-proximate magnetic region, all respective other of the multiple metal oxide-comprising regions being between immediately adjacent of the multiple more magnetic regions.

22. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 13 wherein the first electrode is on one electrode side of the tunnel insulator material, and comprising a non-magnetic insulator material most-distal from the tunnel insulator material of all insulator materials of the magnetic tunnel junction on the one electrode side, the most-distal insulator material being of the same composition as the tunnel insulator material and having a lower maximum thickness than that of the tunnel insulator material.

23. A magnetic tunnel junction comprising:

a conductive first magnetic electrode comprising magnetic recording material;

a conductive second magnetic electrode spaced from the first electrode and comprising magnetic reference material;

a non-magnetic tunnel insulator material comprising metal oxide between the first and second electrodes;

the magnetic recording material of the first electrode comprising a first magnetic region and a second magnetic region spaced from the first magnetic region, the first magnetic region being more proximate the non-magnetic tunnel insulator material than the second magnetic region;

the first electrode comprising a first non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region between the first and second magnetic regions; and

a second non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region spaced from the first non-magnetic tunnel insulator region over the second magnetic region of the magnetic recording material.

24. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 23 being SMTJ.

25. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 23 being DMTJ.

26. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 23 wherein the non-magnetic tunnel insulator material, the first non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region, and the second non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region are of the same composition relative one another.

27. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 23 wherein the non-magnetic tunnel insulator material, the first non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region, and the second non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region collectively comprise at least two different compositions relative one another.

28. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 27 wherein the non-magnetic tunnel insulator material, the first non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region, and the second non-magnetic insulator metal oxide-comprising region collectively comprise three different compositions relative one another.

29. The magnetic tunnel junction of claim 23 wherein the first electrode is on one electrode side of the tunnel insulator material, and comprising a non-magnetic insulator material most-distal from the tunnel insulator material of all insulator materials of the magnetic tunnel junction on the one electrode side, the most-distal insulator material being of the same composition as the tunnel insulator material and having a lower maximum thickness than that of the tunnel insulator material.