Asymmetric behavior of current-induced magnetization switching in a magnetic tunnel junction: Non-equilibrium first-principles calculations

We investigated the microscopic mechanisms of current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) in an Fe/MgO(001)/Fe/Ta magnetic tunnel junction using non-equilibrium first-principles calculations. We found that the change in the magnetization configuration from antiparallel (AP) to parallel (P) can be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inApplied physics express Vol. 7; no. 4; pp. 45202 - 45204
Main Authors Araidai, Masaaki, Yamamoto, Takahiro, Shiraishi, Kenji
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published The Japan Society of Applied Physics 01.04.2014
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Summary:We investigated the microscopic mechanisms of current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) in an Fe/MgO(001)/Fe/Ta magnetic tunnel junction using non-equilibrium first-principles calculations. We found that the change in the magnetization configuration from antiparallel (AP) to parallel (P) can be realized with a lower electrical power than that from P to AP. From detailed analyses of the density of states subject to a finite bias voltage, we clarified that the asymmetric behavior originates from the difference in the electron scattering processes between switching directions.
ISSN:1882-0778
1882-0786
DOI:10.7567/APEX.7.045202