Title :
Pre-oxidation Suppresses Orange-peel Coupling in Magnetic Tunnel Junctions
Author :
Egelhoff, W.F., Jr. ; McMichael, R.D. ; Dennis, C.L. ; Siles, M.D. ; Shapiro, A.J. ; Maranville, B.B. ; Powell, C.J.
Author_Institution :
NIST, Gaithersburg
Abstract :
Orange-peel coupling (OPC) is a common problem when magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are used to detect low magnetic fields. OPC acts as an anisotropy field to reduce the sensitivity of the free layer to small magnetic fields. We have have found that pre-oxidation of the bottom Co electrode in MJTs very effectively suppresses OPC.
Keywords :
cobalt; magnetic anisotropy; oxidation; tunnelling magnetoresistance; Co; anisotropy field; electrode; magnetic fields; magnetic tunnel junctions; orange-peel coupling; preoxidation; tunneling magnetoresistance; Aluminum oxide; Atomic layer deposition; Electrodes; Magnetic fields; Magnetic tunneling; NIST; Optical coupling; Oxidation; Spin valves; Tunneling magnetoresistance;
Conference_Titel :
Magnetics Conference, 2006. INTERMAG 2006. IEEE International
Conference_Location :
San Diego, CA
Print_ISBN :
1-4244-1479-2
DOI :
10.1109/INTMAG.2006.376454
