MgO tunnel barriers and method of formation

MgO tunnel barriers are formed by depositing a thin layer of Mg on a suitable underlayer, and then directing oxygen and additional Mg towards the Mg layer. The oxygen reacts with the additional Mg and the Mg in the Mg layer to form a MgO tunnel barrier that enjoys excellent tunneling characteristics...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author PARKIN STUART STEPHEN PAPWORTH
Format Patent
LanguageEnglish
Published 30.08.2011
Subjects
BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
ELECTRICITY
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
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Summary:MgO tunnel barriers are formed by depositing a thin layer of Mg on a suitable underlayer, and then directing oxygen and additional Mg towards the Mg layer. The oxygen reacts with the additional Mg and the Mg in the Mg layer to form a MgO tunnel barrier that enjoys excellent tunneling characteristics. The MgO tunnel barriers so formed may be used in magnetic tunnel junctions having tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) values of greater than 100%. The highest TMR values are observed for junctions that have been annealed and that have a (100) crystallographic orientation.
Bibliography:Application Number: US20090554420