Toward Ultra-fast and Ultra-low Power Switching in Perpendicular Magnetic Tunnel Junctions

Published

March 17, 2020

Author(s)

Daniel B. Gopman, Jian-Ping Wang, Tony Low, Weigang Wang, William Taylor

Abstract

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) based on perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (pMTJs) is one of the core building blocks for beyond-CMOS technologies. Their inherent non-volatility, rad- hardness and endurance (1016) makes pMTJs extremely competitive for computation-in-memory and other DoD applications where security and ruggedness are of the utmost vitality. To deliver on the potential of MRAM for computation-in-memory, reductions in the energy- and delay characteristics of pMTJs must be demonstrated. Based on interfacial- and bulk perpendicular magnetic anisotropy materials, we demonstrate two novel perpendicular synthetic antiferromagnet (p-SAF) designs for ultra-fast and ultra-low power switching performance: one using interfacial PMA materials and one using bulk PMA materials. Our stacks are compatible with or close to the existing p-MTJ stack and fabrication process, which will make the technology transition to back- end-of-line semiconductor process practical within a 5-10 year time frame.

Conference Dates

March 16-20, 2020

Conference Location

San Diego, CA

Conference Title

GomacTech 2020 Conference

Pub Type

Conferences

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Citation

Gopman, D. , Wang, J. , Low, T. , Wang, W. and Taylor, W. (2020), Toward Ultra-fast and Ultra-low Power Switching in Perpendicular Magnetic Tunnel Junctions, GomacTech 2020 Conference, San Diego, CA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=929873 (Accessed October 8, 2025)