Sputtered L10-FePd and its Synthetic Antiferromagnet on Si/SiO2 Wafers for Scalable Spintronics

Published

February 20, 2023

Author(s)

Daniel Gopman, Jenae Shoup

Abstract

As a promising alternative to the mainstream CoFeB/MgO system with interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), L10-FePd and its synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF) structure with large crystalline PMA can support spintronic devices with sufficient thermal stability at sub-5 nm sizes. However, the compatibility requirement of preparing L10-FePd thin films on Si/SiO2 wafers is still unmet. In this paper, we prepare high-quality L10-FePd and its SAF on Si/SiO2 wafers by coating the amorphous SiO2 surface with an MgO(001) seed layer. The prepared L10-FePd single layer and SAF stack are highly (001)-textured, showing strong PMA, low damping, and sizeable interlayer exchange coupling, respectively. Systematic characterizations, including advanced X-ray diffraction measurement and atomic resolution-scanning transmission electron microscopy, are conducted in order to explain the outstanding performance of L10-FePd layers. A fully-epitaxial growth that starts from MgO seed layer, induces the (001) texture of L10-FePd, and extends through the SAF spacer is observed. This study makes the vision of scalable spintronics more practical.

Citation

Advanced Functional Materials

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202214201

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Keywords

spintronics, L10-FePd, perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, synthetic antiferromagnets, industry compatibility

Citation

Gopman, D. and Shoup, J. (2023), Sputtered L10-FePd and its Synthetic Antiferromagnet on Si/SiO2 Wafers for Scalable Spintronics, Advanced Functional Materials, [online], https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202214201, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=935992 (Accessed October 13, 2024)