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Suppressing of Unidirectional Coupling in Magnetic Tunnel Junctions by Preoxidation: Structural Studies

Author(s)

William F. Egelhoff Jr., Robert D. McMichael, Mark D. Stiles, Cedric J. Powell, John E. Bonevich, M Wormington, D S. Eastwood, B K. Tanner

Abstract

Pre-oxidation of the bottom electrode prior to deposition of Al_{2}O_{3} or MgO is very effective as a general approach to suppressing the unidirectional coupling that is commonly observed in magnetic tunnel junctions. In this paper, we report structural studies of this effect using grazing incidence x-ray reflectometry and transmission electron microscopy. The results suggest that the decrease in unidirectional coupling is not a result of a simple smoothing of conformal roughness, and an alternative mechanism must be sought.
Citation
Journal of Applied Physics

Keywords

magnetic tunnel junctions, pre-oxidation, unidirectional coupling

Citation

Egelhoff, W. , McMichael, R. , Stiles, M. , Powell, C. , Bonevich, J. , Wormington, M. , Eastwood, D. and Tanner, B. (1970), Suppressing of Unidirectional Coupling in Magnetic Tunnel Junctions by Preoxidation: Structural Studies, Journal of Applied Physics (Accessed October 13, 2024)

Issues

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Created August 26, 2016, Updated October 8, 2021