Title :
An All-Epitaxial Fe3Si/FeSi/Co2FeSi Trilayer Grown by Room-Temperature Molecular Beam Epitaxy
Author :
Hirayama, Junya ; Tanikawa, Kohei ; Kawano, Makoto ; Yamada, Shigeru ; Miyao, Masanobu ; Hamaya, Kohei
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electron., Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka, Japan
Abstract :
We present a heat-treatment-free fabrication technique for pseudo current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance (CPP-GMR) structures with a highly spin-polarized Co-based Heusler-compound electrode. Room-temperature molecular beam epitaxy enables an all-epitaxial Heusler compound/metallic spacer/Heusler compound, i.e., Fe3Si/FeSi/Co2FeSi, trilayer structure. Since each layer includes ideally ordered structures, the magnetization reversal process of the trilayer is changed from two-step switching to one-step switching upon cooling through the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition of the ordered FeSi spacer layer. This paper will open a way for high-performance CPP-GMR devices with Co-based Heusler compounds.
Keywords :
cobalt alloys; electrodes; ferromagnetic materials; ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transitions; giant magnetoresistance; iron alloys; magnetic cooling; magnetic epitaxial layers; magnetic multilayers; magnetisation reversal; metallic epitaxial layers; molecular beam epitaxial growth; paramagnetic materials; perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; silicon alloys; spin polarised transport; Fe3Si-FeSi-Co2FeSi; all-epitaxial Fe3Si-FeSi-Co2FeSi trilayer; all-epitaxial Heusler compound-metallic spacer-Heusler compound; cooling; heat-treatment-free fabrication technique; high-performance CPP-GMR devices; magnetization reversal process; one-step switching; ordered FeSi spacer layer; ordered structures; paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition; pseudocurrent-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance structures; room-temperature molecular beam epitaxy; spin-polarized Co-based Heusler-compound electrode; temperature 293 K to 298 K; two-step switching; Atomic layer deposition; Compounds; Giant magnetoresistance; Molecular beam epitaxial growth; Silicon; Temperature measurement; Atomic arrangement matching; Heusler compounds; current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance (CPP-GMR); molecular beam epitaxy (MBE);
Journal_Title :
Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TMAG.2014.2321426
