Effect of plasma oxidation on pre-oxidized magnetic tunnel junctions

Philip W.T. Pong; Moshe Schmoueli; William F. Egelhoff

doi:10.1109/TMAG.2008.2001329

Effect of plasma oxidation on pre-oxidized magnetic tunnel junctions

Philip W.T. Pong, Moshe Schmoueli, William F. Egelhoff

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The technique of pre-oxidation of the bottom CoFe electrode prior to deposition of Al₂O₃ was previously shown to be capable of suppressing intermixing at the ferromagnet/Al interface and removing partial shorts near Al grain boundaries. In this paper, we studied the influence of the plasma oxidation on the pre-oxidized magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). In general, the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) is independent of the plasma oxidation time whereas the resistance-area product (RA) increases with it. However, for the preoxidized MTJs with very thin Al₂O₃ (Al thickness < 0.7 nm prior to plasma oxidation), the TMR decreases with plasma oxidation while the RA increases with it.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	2911-2913
Number of pages	3
Journal	IEEE Transactions on Magnetics
Volume	44
Issue number	11 PART 1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/TMAG.2008.2001329
State	Published - Nov 2008
Externally published	Yes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Keywords

Intermixing
Magnetic tunnel junction
Orange-peel coupling
Plasma oxidation
Pre-oxidation

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10.1109/TMAG.2008.2001329

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title = "Effect of plasma oxidation on pre-oxidized magnetic tunnel junctions",

abstract = "The technique of pre-oxidation of the bottom CoFe electrode prior to deposition of Al2O3 was previously shown to be capable of suppressing intermixing at the ferromagnet/Al interface and removing partial shorts near Al grain boundaries. In this paper, we studied the influence of the plasma oxidation on the pre-oxidized magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). In general, the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) is independent of the plasma oxidation time whereas the resistance-area product (RA) increases with it. However, for the preoxidized MTJs with very thin Al2O3 (Al thickness < 0.7 nm prior to plasma oxidation), the TMR decreases with plasma oxidation while the RA increases with it.",

keywords = "Intermixing, Magnetic tunnel junction, Orange-peel coupling, Plasma oxidation, Pre-oxidation",

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year = "2008",

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doi = "10.1109/TMAG.2008.2001329",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "44",

pages = "2911--2913",

journal = "IEEE Transactions on Magnetics",

issn = "0018-9464",

publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Effect of plasma oxidation on pre-oxidized magnetic tunnel junctions

AU - Pong, Philip W.T.

AU - Schmoueli, Moshe

AU - Egelhoff, William F.

PY - 2008/11

Y1 - 2008/11

N2 - The technique of pre-oxidation of the bottom CoFe electrode prior to deposition of Al2O3 was previously shown to be capable of suppressing intermixing at the ferromagnet/Al interface and removing partial shorts near Al grain boundaries. In this paper, we studied the influence of the plasma oxidation on the pre-oxidized magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). In general, the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) is independent of the plasma oxidation time whereas the resistance-area product (RA) increases with it. However, for the preoxidized MTJs with very thin Al2O3 (Al thickness < 0.7 nm prior to plasma oxidation), the TMR decreases with plasma oxidation while the RA increases with it.

AB - The technique of pre-oxidation of the bottom CoFe electrode prior to deposition of Al2O3 was previously shown to be capable of suppressing intermixing at the ferromagnet/Al interface and removing partial shorts near Al grain boundaries. In this paper, we studied the influence of the plasma oxidation on the pre-oxidized magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). In general, the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) is independent of the plasma oxidation time whereas the resistance-area product (RA) increases with it. However, for the preoxidized MTJs with very thin Al2O3 (Al thickness < 0.7 nm prior to plasma oxidation), the TMR decreases with plasma oxidation while the RA increases with it.

KW - Intermixing

KW - Magnetic tunnel junction

KW - Orange-peel coupling

KW - Plasma oxidation

KW - Pre-oxidation

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JO - IEEE Transactions on Magnetics

JF - IEEE Transactions on Magnetics

IS - 11 PART 1

ER -

Effect of plasma oxidation on pre-oxidized magnetic tunnel junctions

Abstract

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Keywords

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