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Published Online: 10 January 2018
Accepted: December 2017

Giant tunnel magnetoresistance in polycrystalline magnetic tunnel junctions with highly textured MgAl2O4(001) based barriers featured

Appl. Phys. Lett. 112, 022408 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5013076
Ikhtiar, Hiroaki Sukegawaa), Xiandong Xu, Mohamed Belmoubarik, Hwachol Lee, Shinya Kasai, and Kazuhiro Hono
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Abstract
Although single-crystalline spinel (MgAl2O4)-based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are known to show a good bias voltage dependence of a tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio over MgO-based MTJs, no polycrystalline MgAl2O4-based MTJs exhibiting large TMR ratios have been grown previously due to the lack of crystallinity of the MgAl2O4 barrier. In this work, we demonstrate the growth of polycrystalline-based MTJs with large TMR ratios exceeding 240% and an improved bias voltage dependence compared to that of MgO-based MTJs. An ultra-thin CoFe/MgO seed layer on the amorphous CoFeB layer induced the growth of a highly (001)-textured MgAl2O4 barrier, which worked as a template layer for the solid epitaxy of CoFe grains during the crystallization of the CoFeB layers. High resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy shows lattice-matched epitaxy between the (001)-textured MgAl2O4 barrier and CoFe grains. This study demonstrates the industrial viability of MgAl2O4-based polycrystalline MTJs with an improved bias voltage dependence.

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