Cong He
(National Institute for Materials Science)
;
Keisuke Masuda
(National Institute for Materials Science
)
;
Jieyuan Song
(National Institute for Materials Science
)
;
Thomas Scheike
(National Institute for Materials Science
)
;
Zhenchao Wen
(National Institute for Materials Science
)
;
Yoshio Miura
(National Institute for Materials Science
)
;
Tadakatsu Ohkubo
(National Institute for Materials Science
)
;
Kazuhiro Hono
(National Institute for Materials Science
)
;
Seiji Mitani
(National Institute for Materials Science
)
;
Hiroaki Sukegawa
(National Institute for Materials Science
)
説明:
(abstract)Nano-crystal domain structures formed in a MgO barrier and their effects on tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) in epitaxial fcc-Co90Fe10 (CoFe)(111)/MgO(111)/CoFe(111) magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) have been systematically studied using scanning transmission electron microscopy and first-principles calculations. These domains are widely distributed in the (111)-textured MgO layer, being different from conventional bcc-CoFe/MgO(001)-based MTJs. The (111)-texture is formed by extension of {111} planes through several adjacent MgO domains. Three types of orientation relationships (ORs) between CoFe and MgO are identified, including cube-on-cube type (Type-1), twin-like type (Type-2), and unexpected type (Type-3). Crystallographic analysis indicated that Type-2 OR is a variant of Type-1 OR, triggered by different stacking orders of MgO(111) planes, while Type-3 OR is formed by a 30◦ in-plane rotation of MgO lattice relative to Type-1 OR. Due to the large in-plane lattice mismatch (19.6%) between Co(111) and MgO(111) in Type-1 and Type-2 ORs, Type-3 OR (mismatch 3.4%) can be stabilized. First-principles calculations uncovered that the theoretical TMR ratio of the MgO(111) MTJ with Type-3 OR is ~2 orders of magnitude smaller than that with Type-1 and Type-2 ORs. The small contribution of Type-3 OR to the transport reasonably interprets why the experimental TMR ratio (~37%) is much lower than the theoretical value (~2100%) in the Co/MgO/Co(111) MTJ. This study has revealed the nano-crystal domain formation unique to the fcc-CoFe/MgO(111) MTJs, indicating that controlling the nano-crystal domains (e.g., lattice optimization by atomic doping) can be a guiding principle to develop MgO(111)-based epitaxial MTJs and related heterostructure devices.
権利情報:
キーワード: Spintronics, Magnetic tunnel junctions, Tunnel magnetoresistance, Epitaxial growth
刊行年月日: 2023-09-27
出版者: Elsevier BV
掲載誌:
研究助成金:
原稿種別: 著者最終稿 (Accepted manuscript)
MDR DOI: https://doi.org/10.48505/nims.4752
公開URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2023.119394
関連資料:
その他の識別子:
連絡先:
更新時刻: 2025-10-21 16:16:53 +0900
MDRでの公開時刻: 2025-10-21 16:16:02 +0900
| ファイル名 | サイズ | |||
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Accepted manuscript.pdf
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application/pdf |
サイズ | 2.62MB | 詳細 |