Tunneling magnetoresistance and spin-orbit torque magnetization switching in ferrimagnetic Gd-Fe-Co based magnetic tunnel junction

Spin–orbit torque magnetization switching is studied in three-terminal magnetic tunnel junctions with a ferrimagnetic Gd-Fe-Co free layer. Pt is used as a spin current generation layer and a Co-Fe-B synthetic antiferromagnet is used as the reference layer. A thin Fe-B layer is inserted between the G...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 2025-01, Vol.64 (1), p.10904
Main Authors: Yunokizaki, M., Hibino, Y., Idzuchi, H., Tsai, H., Ishibashi, M., Miwa, S., Hayashi, M., Nakatsuji, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ferrimagnet
magnetic tunnel junction
spintronics
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Summary:Spin–orbit torque magnetization switching is studied in three-terminal magnetic tunnel junctions with a ferrimagnetic Gd-Fe-Co free layer. Pt is used as a spin current generation layer and a Co-Fe-B synthetic antiferromagnet is used as the reference layer. A thin Fe-B layer is inserted between the Gd-Fe-Co free layer and the MgO barrier. The thickness of the Fe-B layer is varied from 4 to 12 Å. We find the tunnel magnetoresistance ratio increases with increasing Fe-B layer thickness until it saturates at ∼14%, while the current density needed to reverse the magnetization of the Gd-Fe-Co/Fe-B layer via spin–orbit torque remains almost unchanged. The results highlight the effectiveness of the thin Fe-B layer in obtaining sizable tunneling magnetoresistance and efficient spin–orbit-torque switching.
ISSN:0021-4922
1347-4065
DOI:10.35848/1347-4065/ada1b8