Development of perpendicularly magnetized Ta|CoFeB|MgO-based tunnel junctions at IBM (invited)

The discovery of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in Ta|CoFeB|MgO and the subsequent development of perpendicularly magnetized tunnel junctions at IBM is reviewed. The fast-turn-around method used for screening materials for interface PMA by measuring the moment/area and anisotropy field of i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2014-05, Vol.115 (17)
Main Authors: Worledge, D. C., Hu, G., Abraham, David W., Trouilloud, P. L., Brown, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physics
Electrical junctions
Flux density
Magnesium oxide
Magnetic anisotropy
Thermal stability
Tunnel junctions
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Summary:The discovery of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in Ta|CoFeB|MgO and the subsequent development of perpendicularly magnetized tunnel junctions at IBM is reviewed. The fast-turn-around method used for screening materials for interface PMA by measuring the moment/area and anisotropy field of in-plane materials as a function of CoFeB thickness is presented, including the data as a function of seed-layer material which led to the discovery of PMA in Ta|CoFeB|MgO. Magnetic and electrical data are reported for the first PMA magnetic tunnel junction we made using this material. By inserting a thin Fe layer at the Ta|CoFeB interface, a substantial increase in the PMA energy density was obtained. Pure Fe layers (which required the use of a TaMg seed) greatly improved the thermal stability, allowing annealing up to 400  °C.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.4870169