Title :
Improvement of Switching Field in Magnetic Tunneling Junction Using Ru/Ta Capping Layer
Author :
Yen, Cheng-Tyng ; Chen, Wei-Chuan ; Wang, Yung-Hung ; Yang, Shan-Yi ; Shen, Kuei-Hung ; Kao, Ming-Jer ; Tsai, Ming-Jinn
Author_Institution :
Electron. Res. & Service Organ., Ind. Technol. Res. Inst., Hsinchu
Abstract :
A Ru/Ta capping layer for magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs) was used to replace the routinely used Ta capping layer. The MTJs with CoFeB used as the free layer were shaped to ellipses of 0.36 times 0.60 mum. The magnetoresistive (MR) ratio of Ru/Ta capped MTJs was found to be 47.3%, slightly lower than the value of 52.8% of Ta capped MTJs. In the meantime, the switching field of Ru/Ta capped MTJs with 30Aring of Ru was found to be 37.7 Oe, greatly reduced from 63 Oe of Ta capped MTJs. The switching field variation of Ru/Ta capped MTJs was 6 Oe, also better than the value of 11 Oe of Ta capped MTJs. The different switching behaviors of Ru/Ta and Ta capped MTJs were discussed from the aspects of oxygen diffusion, intermixing, and magnetostriction
Keywords :
magnetic storage; magnetic switching; magnetic tunnelling; magnetoresistive devices; random-access storage; capping layer; magnetic switching; magnetic tunneling junction; magnetoresistive random access memory; switching field; Amorphous materials; Magnetic anisotropy; Magnetic field measurement; Magnetic films; Magnetic switching; Magnetic tunneling; Magnetostriction; Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; Random access memory; Tunneling magnetoresistance; Cappying layer; magnetic switching; magnetic tunneling junction; magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM);
Journal_Title :
Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TMAG.2006.878897
