Please wait a minute...
Chin. Phys. B, 2014, Vol. 23(7): 077501    DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/23/7/077501
Special Issue: TOPICAL REVIEW — Magnetism, magnetic materials, and interdisciplinary research
TOPICAL REVIEW—Magnetism, magnetic materials, and interdisciplinary research Prev   Next  

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction and its application in magnetic random access memory

Liu Hou-Fang (刘厚方), Syed Shahbaz Ali, Han Xiu-Feng (韩秀峰)
Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Abstract  Recent progresses in magnetic tunnel junctions with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) are reviewed and summarized. At first, the concept and source of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) are introduced. Next, a historical overview of PMA materials as magnetic electrodes, such as the RE-TM alloys TbFeCo and GdFeCo, novel tetragonal manganese alloys Mn-Ga, L10-ordered (Co, Fe)/Pt alloy, multilayer film [Co, Fe, CoFe/Pt, Pd, Ni, Au]N, and ultra-thin magnetic metal/oxidized barrier is offered. The other part of the article focuses on the optimization and fabrication of CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB p-MTJs, which is thought to have high potential to meet the main demands for non-volatile magnetic random access memory.
Keywords:  magnetic random access memory      perpendicular magnetic anisotropy      spin transfer torque effect      magnetic tunnel junction  
Received:  23 April 2014      Revised:  13 June 2014      Accepted manuscript online: 
PACS:  75.30.Gw (Magnetic anisotropy)  
  75.50.Ss (Magnetic recording materials)  
  75.76.+j (Spin transport effects)  
  85.75.Dd (Magnetic memory using magnetic tunnel junctions)  
Fund: Project supported by the State Key Project of Fundamental Research of Ministry of Science and Technology, China (Grant No. 2010CB934400) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51229101 and 11374351).
Corresponding Authors:  Han Xiu-Feng     E-mail:  xfhan@iphy.ac.cn
About author:  75.30.Gw; 75.50.Ss; 75.76.+j; 85.75.Dd

Cite this article: 

Liu Hou-Fang (刘厚方), Syed Shahbaz Ali, Han Xiu-Feng (韩秀峰) Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction and its application in magnetic random access memory 2014 Chin. Phys. B 23 077501

[1] Tehrani S, Slaughter J M, Chen E, Durlam M, Shi J and DeHerrera M 1999 IEEE Trans. Magn. 35 2814
[2] Tehrani S, Engel B, Slaughter J M, Chen E, DeHerrera M, Durlam M, Naji P, Whig R, Janesky J and Calder J 2000 IEEE Trans. Magn. 36 2752
[3] Han X F, Wen Z C and Wei H X 2008 J. Appl. Phys. 103 07E933
[4] Wang K L, Alzate J G and Amiri P K 2013 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 46 074003
[5] Chen E, Apalko D, Diao Z, Smith A D, Druist D, Lottis D, Nikitin V, Tang X, Watts S, Wang S, Wolf S A, Ghosh A W, Lu J W, Poon S J, Stan M, ButlerWH, Gupta S, Mewes C K A, Mewes T and Visscher P B 2010 IEEE Trans. Magn. 46 1873
[6] Han X F,Wen Z C, Wang Y, Liu H F, Wei H X and Liu D P 2011 IEEE Trans. Magn. 47 2957
[7] Huai Y M 2008 AAPPS Bulletin 18 33
[8] Slonczewski J C 1996 J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 159 L1
[9] Berger L 1996 Phys. Rev. B 54 9353
[10] Katine J A, Albert F J, Buhrman R A, Myers E B and Ralph D C 2000 Phys. Rev. Lett. 84 3149
[11] Huai Y M, Pakala M, Diao Z T, Apalkov D, Ding Y F and Panchula A 2006 J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 304 88
[12] Wen Z C, Wei H X and Han X F 2007 Appl. Phys. Lett. 91 122511
[13] Diao Z T, Apalkov D, Pakala M, Ding Y F, Panchula A and Huai Y M 2005 Appl. Phys. Lett. 87 232502
[14] Tang D D and Lee Y J 2010 Magnetic Memory Fundamentals and Technology (New York: Cambridge University Press) p. 122
[15] Mangin S, Ravelosona D, Katine J A, CareyMJ, Terris B D and Fullerton E E 2006 Nat. Mater. 5 210
[16] Mangin S, Ravelosona D, Henry Y, Katine J A and Fullerton E E 2008 AAPPS Bulletin 18 41
[17] Ohmori H, Hatori T and Nakagawa S 2008 J. Appl. Phys. 103 07A911
[18] Kubota T, Ma Q L, Mizukami S, Zhang X M, Naganuma H, Oogane M, Ando Y and Miyazaki T 2013 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 46 155001
[19] Ma Q L, Kubota T, Mizukami S, Zhang X M, Naganuma H, Oogane M, Ando Y and Miyazaki T 2012 Appl. Phys. Lett. 101 032402
[20] Yoshikawa M, Kitagawa E, Nagase T, Daibou T, Nagamine M, Nishiyama K, Kishi T and Yoda H 2008 IEEE Trans. Magn. 44 2573
[21] Kim G, Sakuraba Y, Oogane M, Ando Y and Miyazaki T 2008 Appl. Phys. Lett. 92 172502
[22] Park J H, Park C, Jeong T, Moneck M T, Nufer N T and Zhu J G 2008 J. Appl. Phys. 103 07A917
[23] Tadisina Z R, Natarajarathinam A, Clark B D, Highsmith A L, Mewes T, Gupta S, Chen E and Wang S 2010 J. Appl. Phys. 107 09C703
[24] You L, Sousa R C, Bandiera S, Rodmacq B and Dieny B 2012 Appl. Phys. Lett. 100 172411
[25] Manchon A, Ducruet C, Lombard L, Auffret S, Rodmacq B, Dieny B, Pizzini S, Vogel J, Uhlí V, Hochstrasser M and Panaccione G 2008 J. Appl. Phys. 104 043914
[26] Stöhr J and Siegmann H C 2006 Magnetism: From Fundamentals to Nanoscale Dynamics (New York: Springer) p. 504
[27] Tohnson M T, Bloemen P H, den Broeder F J A and de Vries J J 1996 Rep. Prog. Phys. 59 1409
[28] Zhu L J, Nie S H, Meng K K, Pan D, Zhao J H and Zhen H Z 2012 Adv. Mater. 24 4547
[29] Ma Q L, Kubota T, Mizukami S, Zhang X M, Naganuma H, Oogane M, Ando Y and Miyazaki T 2012 Phys. Rev. B. 87 184426
[30] Monso S, Rodmacq B, Auffret S, Casali G, Fettar F, Gilles B, Dieny B and Boyer P 2002 Appl. Phys. Lett. 80 4157
[31] Yang H X, Chshiev M, Dieny B, Lee J H, Manchon A and Shin K H 2011 Phys. Rev. B. 84 054401
[32] Khoo K H, Wu G, Jhon M H, Tran M, Ernult F, Eason K, Choi H J and Gan C K 2013 Phys. Rev. B 87 174403
[33] Khvalkovskiy A V, Apalkov D,Watts S, Chepulskii R, Beach R S, Ong A, Tang X, Smith A D, Butler W H, Visscher P B, Lottis D, Chen E, Nikitin V and Krounbi M 2013 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 46 074001
[34] Kryder M H, Gage E C, McDaniel T W, Challener W A, Rottmayer R E, Ju G P, Hsia Y T and Fatih E 2008 Proc. IEEE 96 1810
[35] Nishimura N, Hirai T, Koganei A, Ikeda T, Okano K, Sekiguchi Y and Osada Y 2002 J. Appl. Phys. 91 5246
[36] Cabrera A C, Chang C H, Hsu C C, Weng M C, Chen C C, Chao C T, Wu J C, Chang Y H and Wu T H 2007 IEEE Trans. Magn. 43 914
[37] Nakayama M, Kai T, Shimomura N, Amano M, Kitagawa E, Nagase T, Yoshikawa M, Kishi T, Ikegawa S and Yoda H 2008 J. Appl. Phys. 103 07A710
[38] Park J, Park C, Jeong T, Moneck M, Nuhfer N and Zhu J 2008 J. Appl. Phys. 103 07A917
[39] Ye L X, Lee C M, Syu J W, Wang Y R, Lin K W, Chang Y H and Wu T H 2008 IEEE Trans. Magn. 44 3601
[40] Yakushiji K, Noma K, Saruya T, Kubota H, Fukushima A, Nagahama T, Yuasa S and Ando K 2010 Appl. Phys. Exp. 3 053003
[41] Mizunuma K, Yamanouchi M, Ikeda S, Sato H, Yamamoto H, Gan H D, Miura K, Hayakawa J, Matsukura F and Ohno H 2011 Appl. Phys. Exp. 4 023002
[42] Mizunuma K, Ikeda S, Sato H, Yamanouchi M, Gan H D, Miura K, Yamamoto H, Hayakawa J, Matsukura F and Ohno H 2011 J. Appl. Phys. 109 07C711
[43] Ikeda S, Miura K, Yamamoto H, Mizunuma K, Gan H D, Endo M, Kanai S, Hayakawa J, Matsukura F and Ohno H 2010 Nat. Mater. 9 721
[44] Kim W, Jeong J H, Kim Y, Lim W C, Kim J H, Park J H, Shin H J, Park Y S, Kim K S, Park S H, Lee J E, Park S O, Choi S, Kang H K and Chung C 2011 Tech. Dig. IEDM 11 531
[45] Wang W X, Yang Y, Naganuma H, Yu R C, Ando Y and Han X F 2011 Appl. Phys. Lett. 99 012502
[46] Klein J, Leger A, Belin M and Defourneau D 1973 Phys. Rev. B 7 2336
[47] Jang Y, Lee K, Lee S, Yoon S, Cho B K, Cho Y J, Kim K W and Kim K S 2009 J. Appl. Phys. 105 07C901
[48] Wang S G,Ward R C C, Hesjedal T, Zhang X G,Wang C, Kohn A, Ma Q L, Zhang J, Liu F H and Han X F 2012 J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 12 1006
[49] Anderson P W 1966 Phys. Rev. Lett. 17 95
[50] Wei H X, Qin Q H, Ma Q L, Zhang X G and Han X F 2010 Phys. Rev. B 82 134436
[51] Zhang S and Levy P M 1997 Phys. Rev. Lett. 79 3744.
[52] Drewello V, Schäfers M, Schebaum O, Khan A A, Münchenberger J, Schmalhorst J, Reiss G and Thomas A 2009 Phys. Rev. B 79 174417
[53] Weisheit M, Fähler S, Marty A, Souche Y, Poinsignon C and Givord D 2007 Science 315 349
[54] Maruyama T, Shiota Y, Nozaki T, Ohta K, Toda N, Mizuguchi M, Tulapurkar A A, Shinjo T, Shiraishi M, Mizukami S, Ando Y and Suzuki Y 2009 Nat. Nano. 4 158
[55] Wang W G, Li M, Hageman S and Chien C L 2012 Nat. Mater. 11 64
[56] Wang W G and Chien C L 2013 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 46 074004
[57] Kanai S, Yamanouchi M, Ikeda S, Nakatani Y, Matsukura F and Ohno H 2012 Appl. Phys. Lett. 101 122403
[58] Shiota Y, Nazaki T, Bonell F, Murakami S, Shinjo T and Suzuki Y 2012 Nat. Mater. 11 39
[59] Shimabukuro R, Nakamura K, Akiyama T and Ito T 2010 Physica E 42 1014
[60] Bruno P 1986 Phys. Rev. B 39 865
[61] Niranjan M K, Duan C G, Jaswa S S and Tsymbal E Y 2010 Appl. Phys. Lett. 96 222504
[1] High repetition granular Co/Pt multilayers with improved perpendicular remanent magnetization for high-density magnetic recording
Zhi Li(李智), Kun Zhang(张昆), Ao Du(杜奥), Hongchao Zhang(张洪超), Weibin Chen(陈伟斌), Ning Xu(徐宁), Runrun Hao(郝润润), Shishen Yan(颜世申), Weisheng Zhao(赵巍胜), and Qunwen Leng(冷群文). Chin. Phys. B, 2023, 32(2): 026803.
[2] Thickness-dependent magnetic properties in Pt/[Co/Ni]n multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy
Chunjie Yan(晏春杰), Lina Chen(陈丽娜), Kaiyuan Zhou(周恺元), Liupeng Yang(杨留鹏), Qingwei Fu(付清为), Wenqiang Wang(王文强), Wen-Cheng Yue(岳文诚), Like Liang(梁力克), Zui Tao(陶醉), Jun Du(杜军),Yong-Lei Wang(王永磊), and Ronghua Liu(刘荣华). Chin. Phys. B, 2023, 32(1): 017503.
[3] Strain-mediated magnetoelectric control of tunneling magnetoresistance in magnetic tunneling junction/ferroelectric hybrid structures
Wenyu Huang(黄文宇), Cangmin Wang(王藏敏), Yichao Liu(刘艺超), Shaoting Wang(王绍庭), Weifeng Ge(葛威锋), Huaili Qiu(仇怀利), Yuanjun Yang(杨远俊), Ting Zhang(张霆), Hui Zhang(张汇), and Chen Gao(高琛). Chin. Phys. B, 2022, 31(9): 097502.
[4] The 50 nm-thick yttrium iron garnet films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy
Shuyao Chen(陈姝瑶), Yunfei Xie(谢云飞), Yucong Yang(杨玉聪), Dong Gao(高栋), Donghua Liu(刘冬华), Lin Qin(秦林), Wei Yan(严巍), Bi Tan(谭碧), Qiuli Chen(陈秋丽), Tao Gong(龚涛), En Li(李恩), Lei Bi(毕磊), Tao Liu(刘涛), and Longjiang Deng(邓龙江). Chin. Phys. B, 2022, 31(4): 048503.
[5] Perpendicular magnetization and exchange bias in epitaxial NiO/[Ni/Pt]2 multilayers
Lin-Ao Huang(黄林傲), Mei-Yu Wang(王梅雨), Peng Wang(王鹏), Yuan Yuan(袁源), Ruo-Bai Liu(刘若柏), Tian-Yu Liu(刘天宇), Yu Lu(卢羽), Jia-Rui Chen(陈家瑞), Lu-Jun Wei(魏陆军), Wei Zhang(张维), Biao You(游彪), Qing-Yu Xu(徐庆宇), and Jun Du(杜军). Chin. Phys. B, 2022, 31(2): 027506.
[6] Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of Pd/Co2MnSi/NiFe2O4/Pd multilayers on F-mica substrates
Qingwang Bai(白青旺), Bin Guo(郭斌), Qin Yin(尹钦), and Shuyun Wang(王书运). Chin. Phys. B, 2022, 31(1): 017501.
[7] Optimized growth of compensated ferrimagnetic insulator Gd3Fe5O12 with a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy
Heng-An Zhou(周恒安), Li Cai(蔡立), Teng Xu(许腾), Yonggang Zhao(赵永刚), and Wanjun Jiang(江万军). Chin. Phys. B, 2021, 30(9): 097503.
[8] Experiments and SPICE simulations of double MgO-based perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction
Qiuyang Li(李求洋), Penghe Zhang(张蓬鹤), Haotian Li(李浩天), Lina Chen(陈丽娜), Kaiyuan Zhou(周恺元), Chunjie Yan(晏春杰), Liyuan Li(李丽媛), Yongbing Xu(徐永兵), Weixin Zhang(张卫欣), Bo Liu(刘波), Hao Meng(孟浩), Ronghua Liu(刘荣华), and Youwei Du(都有为). Chin. Phys. B, 2021, 30(4): 047504.
[9] RF magnetron sputtering induced the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy modification in Pt/Co based multilayers
Runze Li(李润泽), Yucai Li(李予才), Yu Sheng(盛宇), and Kaiyou Wang(王开友). Chin. Phys. B, 2021, 30(2): 028506.
[10] Magnetic anisotropy manipulation and interfacial coupling in Sm3Fe5O12 films and CoFe/Sm3Fe5O12 heterostructures
Lei Shen(沈磊), Guanjie Wu(武冠杰), Tao Sun(孙韬), Zhi Meng(孟智), Chun Zhou(周春), Wenyi Liu(刘文怡), Kang Qiu(邱康), Zongwei Ma(马宗伟), Haoliang Huang(黄浩亮), Yalin Lu(陆亚林), Zongzhi Zhang(张宗芝), and Zhigao Sheng(盛志高). Chin. Phys. B, 2021, 30(12): 127502.
[11] Detection of HIV-1 antigen based on magnetic tunnel junction sensors
Li Li(李丽), Kai-Yu Mak(麦启宇), Yan Zhou(周艳). Chin. Phys. B, 2020, 29(8): 088701.
[12] Surface states modulated exchange interaction in Bi2Se3/thulium iron garnet heterostructures
Hai-Bin Shi(石海滨), Li-Qin Yan(闫丽琴), Yang-Tao Su(苏仰涛), Li Wang(王力), Xin-Yu Cao(曹昕宇), Lin-Zhu Bi(毕林竹), Yang Meng(孟洋), Yang Sun(孙阳), and Hong-Wu Zhao(赵宏武). Chin. Phys. B, 2020, 29(11): 117302.
[13] Dependence of switching process on the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy constant in P-MTJ
Mao-Sen Yang(杨茂森), Liang Fang(方粮), Ya-Qing Chi(池雅庆). Chin. Phys. B, 2018, 27(9): 098504.
[14] Effect of Mo capping layers thickness on the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in MgO/CoFeB based top magnetic tunnel junction structure
Yi Liu(刘毅), Kai-Gui Zhu(朱开贵), Hui-Cai Zhong(钟汇才), Zheng-Yong Zhu(朱正勇), Tao Yu(于涛), Su-De Ma(马苏德). Chin. Phys. B, 2016, 25(11): 117805.
[15] Nonmonotonic effects of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy on current-driven vortex wall motions in magnetic nanostripes
Su Yuan-Chang (苏垣昌), Lei Hai-Yang (雷海洋), Hu Jing-Guo (胡经国). Chin. Phys. B, 2015, 24(9): 097506.
No Suggested Reading articles found!