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2017-01-16

Electric field modulation of the non-linear areal magnetic anisotropy energy

We study the ferromagnetic layer thickness dependence of the voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) in gated CoFeB/MgO heterostructures with heavy metal underlayers. When the effective CoFeB thickness is below ~1 nm, the VCMA efficiency of Ta/CoFeB/MgO heterostructures considerably decreases with decreasing CoFeB thickness. We find that a high order phenomenological term used to describe the thickness dependence of the areal magnetic anisotropy energy can also account for the change in the areal VCMA efficiency. In this structure, the higher order term competes against the common interfacial VCMA, thereby reducing the efficiency at lower CoFeB thickness. The areal VCMA efficiency does not saturate even when the effective CoFeB thickness exceeds ~1 nm. We consider the higher order term is related to the strain that develops at the CoFeB/MgO interface: as the average strain of the CoFeB layer changes with its thickness, the electronic structure of the CoFeB/MgO interface varies leading to changes in areal magnetic anisotropy energy and VCMA efficiency.

1701.04150v1

2018-10-01

Determination of spin Hall angle in heavy metal/CoFeB-based heterostructures with interfacial spin-orbit fields

Magnetization dynamics in W/CoFeB, CoFeB/Pt and W/CoFeB/Pt multilayers was investigated using spin-orbit-torque ferromagnetic resonance (SOT-FMR) technique. An analytical model based on magnetization dynamics due to SOT was used to fit heavy metal (HM) thickness dependence of symmetric and antisymmetric components of the SOT-FMR signal. The analysis resulted in a determination of the properties of HM layers, such as spin Hall angle and spin diffusion length. The spin Hall angle of -0.36 and 0.09 has been found in the W/CoFeB and CoFeB/Pt bilayers, respectively, which add up in the case of W/CoFeB/Pt trilayer. More importantly, we have determined effective interfacial spin-orbit fields at both W/CoFeB and CoFeB/Pt interfaces, which are shown to cancel Oersted field for particular thicknesses of the heavy metal layers, leading to pure spin-current-induced dynamics and indicating the possibility for a more efficient magnetization switching.

1810.00641v1

2011-07-01

High frequency magnetic behavior through the magnetoimpedance effect in CoFeB/(Ta, Ag, Cu) multilayered ferromagnetic thin films

We studied the dynamics of magnetization through an investigation of the magnetoimpedance effect in CoFeB/(Ta, Ag, Cu) multilayered thin films grown by magnetron sputtering. Impedance measurements were analyzed in terms of the mechanisms responsible for their variations at different frequency intervals and the magnetic and structural properties of the multilayers. Analysis of the mechanisms responsible for magnetoimpedance according to frequency and external magnetic field showed that for the CoFeB/Cu multilayer, ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) contributes significantly to the magnetoimpedance effect at frequencies close to 470 MHz. This frequency is low when compared to the results obtained for CoFeB/Ta and CoFeB/Ag multilayers and is a result of the anisotropy distribution and non-formation of regular bilayers in this sample. The MImax values occurred at different frequencies according to the used non-magnetic metal. Variations between 25% and 30% were seen for a localized frequency band, as in the case of CoFeB/Ta and CoFeB/Ag, as well as for a wide frequency range, in the case of CoFeB/Cu.

1107.0204v1

2023-01-12

Cryogenic temperature deposition of high-performance CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions on 300 mm wafers

We developed a cryogenic temperature deposition process for high-performance CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) on 300 mm thermally oxidized silicon wafers. The effect of the deposition temperature of the CoFeB layers on the nanostructure, magnetic and magneto-transport properties of the MTJs were investigated in detail. When CoFeB was deposited at 100 K, the MTJs exhibited a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of 214 uJ/m2 and a voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) coefficient of -45 fJ/Vm, corresponding to 1.4- and 1.7-fold enhancements in PMA and VCMA, respectively, compared to the case of room-temperature deposition of CoFeB. The improvement in the MTJ properties was not simply due to the morphology of the MTJ films. The interface-sensitive magneto-transport properties indicated that interfacial qualities such as intermixing and oxidation states at the MgO/CoFeB interfaces were improved by the cryogenic temperature deposition. Cryogenic-temperature sputtering deposition is expected to be a standard manufacturing process for next-generation magnetoresistive random-access memory.

2301.04823v1

2007-02-09

X-ray photoemission study of CoFeB/MgO thin film bi-layers

We present results from an X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) study of CoFeB/MgO bi-layers where we observe process-dependent formation of B, Fe, and Co oxides at the CoFeB/MgO interface due to oxidation of CoFeB during MgO deposition. Vacuum annealing reduces the Co and Fe oxides but further incorporates B into the MgO forming a composite MgBxOy layer. Inserting an Mg layer between CoFeB and MgO introduces an oxygen sink, providing increased control over B content in the barrier.

0702232v1

2005-04-03

Dependence of Giant Tunnel Magnetoresistance of Sputtered CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB Magnetic Tunnel Junctions on MgO Barrier Thickness and Annealing Temperatur

We investigated the dependence of giant tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) on the thickness of an MgO barrier and on the annealing temperature of sputtered CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions deposited on SiO2/Si wafers. The resistance-area product exponentially increases with MgO thickness, indicating that the quality of MgO barriers is high in the investigated thickness range of 1.15-2.4 nm. High-resolution transmission electron microscope images show that annealing at 375 C results in the formation of crystalline CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB structures, even though CoFeB electrodes are amorphous in the as-sputtered state. The TMR ratio increases with annealing temperature and is as high as 260% at room temperature and 403% at 5 K.

0504051v1

2021-03-30

Thermal annealing enhancement of Josephson critical currents in ferromagnetic CoFeB

The electrical and structural properties of Co40Fe40B20 (CoFeB) alloy are tunable with thermal annealing. This is key in the optimization of CoFeB-based spintronic devices, where the advantageously low magnetic coercivity, high spin polarization, and controllable magnetocrystalline anisotropy are utilised. So far, there has been no report on superconducting devices based on CoFeB. Here, we report Nb/CoFeB/Nb Josephson devices and demonstrate an enhancement of the critical current by up to 700% following thermal annealing due to increased structural ordering of the CoFeB. The results demonstrate that CoFeB is a promising material for the development of superconducting spintronic devices.

2103.16136v1

2020-06-22

Spin-orbit torque induced magnetisation dynamics and switching in CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB system with mixed magnetic anisotropy

Spin-orbit torque (SOT) induced magnetisation switching in CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB trilayer with two CoFeB layers exhibiting in-plane magnetic anisotropy (IPMA) and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is investigated. Interlayer exchange coupling (IEC), measured using ferromagnetic resonance technique is modified by varying thickness of Ta spacer. The evolution of the IEC leads to different orientation of the magnetic anisotropy axes of two CoFeB layers: for thicker Ta layer where magnetisation prefers antiferromagnetic ordering and for thinner Ta layer where ferromagnetic coupling exists. Magnetisation state of the CoFeB layer exhibiting PMA is controlled by the spin-polarized current originating from SOT in $\mu m$ sized Hall bars. The evolution of the critical SOT current density with Ta thickness is presented, showing an increase with decreasing $t_\mathrm{Ta}$, which coincides with the coercive field dependence. In a narrow range of $t_\mathrm{Ta}$ corresponding to the ferromagnetic IEC, the field-free SOT-induced switching is achieved.

2006.12068v1

2023-08-17

Interfacial Fe segregation and its influence on magnetic properties of CoFeB/MgFeO multilayers

We investigated the effect of Fe segregated from partially Fe-substituted MgO (MgFeO) on the magnetic properties of CoFeB/MgFeO multilayers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as well as magnetic measurements revealed that the segregated Fe was reduced to metal and exhibited ferromagnetism at the CoFeB/MgFeO interface. The CoFeB/MgFeO multilayer showed more than 2-fold enhancement in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) energy density compared with a standard CoFeB/MgO multilayer. The PMA energy density was further enhanced by inserting an ultrathin MgO layer in between CoFeB and MgFeO layers. Ferromagnetic resonance measurement also revealed a remarkable reduction of magnetic damping in the CoFeB/MgFeO multilayers.

2308.08876v1

2012-08-29

CoFeB Thickness Dependence of Thermal Stability Factor in CoFeB/MgO Perpendicular Magnetic Tunnel Junctions

Thermal stability factor (delta) of recording layer was studied in perpendicular anisotropy CoFeB/MgO magnetic tunnel junctions (p-MTJs) with various CoFeB recording layer thicknesses and junction sizes. In all series of p-MTJs with different thicknesses, delta is virtually independent of the junction sizes of 48-81 nm in diameter. The values of delta increase linearly with increasing the recording layer thickness. The slope of the linear fit is explained well by a model based on nucleation type magnetization reversal.

1208.5828v1

2016-10-24

Spin orbit effects in CoFeB/MgO hetereostructures with heavy metal underlayers

We study effects originating from the strong spin orbit coupling in CoFeB/MgO heterostructures with heavy metal (HM) underlayers. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy at the CoFeB/MgO interface, the spin Hall angle of the heavy metal layer, current induced torques and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction at the HM/CoFeB interfaces are studied for films in which the early 5d transition metals are used as the HM underlayer. We show how the choice of the HM layer influences these intricate spin orbit effects that emerge within the bulk and at interfaces of the heterostructures.

1610.07473v1

2014-06-10

Influence of Ta insertions on the magnetic properties of MgO/CoFeB/MgO films probed by ferromagnetic resonance

We show by vector network analyzer ferromagnetic resonance measurements that low Gilbert damping {\alpha} down to 0.006 can be achieved in perpendicularly magnetized MgO/CoFeB/MgO thin films with ultra-thin insertions of Ta in the CoFeB layer. While increasing the number of Ta insertions allows thicker CoFeB layers to remain perpendicular, the effective areal magnetic anisotropy does not improve with more insertions, and also comes with an increase in {\alpha}.

1406.2491v2

2017-07-11

Interface Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in the interlayer exchange antiferromagnetic coupled Pt/CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB systems

Interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (iDMI) in interlayer exchange coupled (IEC) Pt/Co$_{20}$Fe$_{60}$B$_{20}$(1.12 nm)/Ru/Co$_{20}$Fe$_{60}$B$_{20}$(1.12 nm) systems have been studied theoretically and experimentally. Vibrating sample magnetometer has been used to measure their magnetization at saturation and their interlayer exchange coupling constants. These latter are found to be of an antiferromagnetic nature for the investigated Ru range thickness (0.5-1 nm). Their dynamic magnetic properties were studied using Brillouin light scattering (BLS) technique. The BLS measurements reveal pronounced non-reciprocal spin waves propagation. In contrast to the calculations for symmetrical IEC CoFeB layers, this experimental nonreciprocity is Ru thickness and thus coupling strength dependent. Therefore, to explain the experimental behaviour, a theoretical model based on the perpendicular interface anisotropy difference between the bottom and top CoFeB layers has been developed. We show that the Ru thickness dependence of the spin wave non-reciprocity is well reproduced by considering a constant iDMI and different perpendicular interfacial anisotropy fields between the top and bottom CoFeB layers. This anisotropy difference has been confirmed by the investigation of the CoFeB thickness dependence of effective magnetization of Pt/CoFeB/Ru and Ru/CoFeB/MgO individual layers, where a linear behaviour has been observed.

1707.03427v1

2017-09-21

Low Gilbert Damping Constant in Perpendicularly Magnetized W/CoFeB/MgO Films with High Thermal Stability

Perpendicular magnetic materials with low damping constant and high thermal stability have great potential for realizing high-density, non-volatile, and low-power consumption spintronic devices, which can sustain operation reliability for high processing temperatures. In this work, we study the Gilbert damping constant ({\alpha}) of perpendicularly magnetized W/CoFeB/MgO films with a high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and superb thermal stability. The {\alpha} of these PMA films annealed at different temperatures is determined via an all-optical Time-Resolved Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect method. We find that {\alpha} of these W/CoFeB/MgO PMA films decreases with increasing annealing temperature, reaches a minimum of {\alpha} = 0.016 at an annealing temperature of 350 {\deg}C, and then increases to 0.024 after post-annealing at 400 {\deg}C. The minimum {\alpha} observed at 350 {\deg}C is rationalized by two competing effects as the annealing temperature becomes higher: the enhanced crystallization of CoFeB and dead-layer growth occurring at the two interfaces of the CoFeB layer. We further demonstrate that {\alpha} of the 400 {\deg}C-annealed W/CoFeB/MgO film is comparable to that of a reference Ta/CoFeB/MgO PMA film annealed at 300 {\deg}C, justifying the enhanced thermal stability of the W-seeded CoFeB films.

1709.07483v1

2018-01-30

Crystalline structure and XMCD studies of Co40Fe40B20 grown on Bi2Te3, BiTeI and Bi2Se3

Epitaxial films of Co40Fe40B20 (further - CoFeB) were grown on Bi2Te3(001) and Bi2Se3(001) substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) technique at 200-400C. Bcc-type crystalline structure of CoFeB with (111) plane parallel to (001) plane of Bi2Te3 was observed, in contrast to polycrystalline CoFeB film formed on Bi2Se3(001) at RT using high-temperature seeding layer. Therefore, structurally ordered ferromagnetic thin films were obtained on the topological insulator surface for the first time. Using high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) 3D reciprocal space mapping, epitaxial relations of main crystallographic axes for the CoFeB/ Bi2Te3 heterostructure were revealed. MOKE and AFM measurements showed the isotropic azimuthal in-plane behavior of magnetization vector in CoFeB/ Bi2Te3, in contrast to 2nd order magnetic anisotropy seen in CoFeB/Bi2Se3. XPS measurements showed more stable behavior of CoFeB grown on Bi2Te3 to the oxidation, in compare to CoFeB grown on Bi2Se3. XAS and XMCD measurements of both concerned nanostructures allowed calculation of spin and orbital magnetic moments for Co and Fe. Additionally, crystalline structure and XMCD response of the CoFeB/BiTeI and Co55Fe45/BiTeI systems were studied, epitaxial relations of main crystallographic axes were found, and spin and orbital magnetic moments were calculated.

1801.10061v1

2005-09-28

Antiferromagnetically coupled CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB trilayers

This work reports on the magnetic interlayer coupling between two amorphous CoFeB layers, separated by a thin Ru spacer. We observe an antiferromagnetic coupling which oscillates as a function of the Ru thickness x, with the second antiferromagnetic maximum found for x=1.0 to 1.1 nm. We have studied the switching of a CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB trilayer for a Ru thickness of 1.1 nm and found that the coercivity depends on the net magnetic moment, i.e. the thickness difference of the two CoFeB layers. The antiferromagnetic coupling is almost independent on the annealing temperatures up to 300 degree C while an annealing at 350 degree C reduces the coupling and increases the coercivity, indicating the onset of crystallization. Used as a soft electrode in a magnetic tunnel junction, a high tunneling magnetoresistance of about 50%, a well defined plateau and a rectangular switching behavior is achieved.

0509749v1

2016-12-09

Influence of intermixing at the Ta/CoFeB interface on spin Hall angle in Ta/CoFeB/MgO heterostructures

We investigate the spin Hall effect in perpendicularly magnetized Ta/Co40Fe40B20/MgO trilayers with Ta underlayers thicker than the spin diffusion length. The crystallographic structures of the Ta layer and Ta/CoFeB interface are examined in detail using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The thinnest Ta underlayer is amorphous, whereas for thicker Ta layers a disoriented tetragonal beta-phase appears. Effective spin-orbit torques are calculated based on harmonic Hall voltage measurements performed in a temperature range between 15 and 300 K. To account for the temperature dependence of damping-like and field-like torques, we extend the spin diffusion model by including an additional contribution from the Ta/CoFeB interface. Based on this approach, the temperature dependence of the spin Hall angle in the Ta underlayer and at Ta/CoFeB interface are determined separately. The results indicate an almost temperature-independent spin Hall angle of theta_SH-N = -0.2 in Ta and a strongly temperature-dependent theta_SH-I for the intermixed Ta/CoFeB interface.

1612.03020v1

2005-09-28

Switching of sub-micrometer sized, antiferromagnetically coupled CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB trilayers

This work reports on the magnetic reversal of sub-micrometer sized elements consisting of an CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB artificial ferrimagnet (AFi). The elements were patterned into ellipses having a width of approximately 250 to 270nm and a varying aspect ratio between 1.3 and 8. The coercivity was found to decrease with an increasing imbalance of the magnetic moment of the two antiferromagnetically coupled layers and is therefore strongly affected by an increase of effective anisotropy due to the antiferromagnetic coupling of the two layers. With respect to a single layer of amorphous CoFeB, patterned in comparable elements, the AFi has an increased coercivity. Switching asteroids comparable to single layers were only observed for samples with a high net moment.

0509750v3

2006-02-26

Strong temperature dependence of antiferromagnetic coupling in CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB

The temperature dependence of saturation and spin-flop fields for artificial ferrimagnets (AFi) based on antiparallel coupled CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB trilayers has been investigated in a temperature range between 80K and 600K. The results presented in this paper are relevant for magnetic devices using this system, e.g. magnetic-random access memory based on spin-flop switching. In good accordance to the theory, the saturation field Hsat behaves like Hsat ~ H_0 (T/T_0)/sinh(T/T_0) with a characteristic temperature of T_0 = 150K. Within this model, the Fermi velocity for the Ru layer is of the order of 10^5m/s, therefore, explaining the strong variation of the coupling strength with the temperature in Ru based AFi. Furthermore, a strong uniaxial anisotropy of K_u = 2x10^3 J/m^3 with a small angular distribution of the anisotropy axes is observed for the AFi trilayers based on amorphous CoFeB alloys.

0602609v2

2006-06-20

Giant tunnel magnetoresistance and high annealing stability in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions with synthetic pinned layer

We investigated the relationship between tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio and the crystallization of CoFeB layers through annealing in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with MgO barriers that had CoFe/Ru/CoFeB synthetic ferrimagnet pinned layers with varying Ru spacer thickness (tRu). The TMR ratio increased with increasing annealing temperature (Ta) and tRu, reaching 361% at Ta = 425C, whereas the TMR ratio of the MTJs with pinned layers without Ru spacers decreased at Ta over 325C. Ruthenium spacers play an important role in forming an (001)-oriented bcc CoFeB pinned layer, resulting in a high TMR ratio through annealing at high temperatures.

0606503v1

2013-04-17

Tunneling magneto thermocurrent in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB based magnetic tunnel junctions

We study the tunneling magneto thermopower and tunneling magneto thermocurrent of CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ). The devices show a clear change of the thermoelectric properties upon reversal of the magnetisation of the CoFeB layers from parallel to the antiparallel orientation. When switching from parallel to antiparallel the thermopower increases by up to 55% where as the thermocurrent drops by 45%. These observations can be well explained by the Onsager relations taking into account the tunneling magneto resistance of the MTJ. These findings contrast previous studies on AlO based MTJ systems, revealing tunneling magneto thermo power but no tunneling magneto thermocurrent.

1304.4798v1

2014-01-18

Enhancement of Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy and Transmission of Spin-Hall-Effect-Induced Spin Currents by a Hf Spacer Layer in W/Hf/CoFeB/MgO Layer

We report that strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of the ferromagnetic layer in a W/CoFeB/MgO multilayer structure can be established by inserting a Hf layer as thin as 0.25 nm between the W and CoFeB layers. The Hf spacer also allows transmission of spin currents generated by an in-plane charge current in the W layer to apply strong spin torque on the CoFeB, thereby enabling current-driven magnetic switching. The antidamping-like and field-like components of the spin torque exerted on a 1 nm CoFeB layer are of comparable magnitudes in this geometry. Both components originate from the spin Hall effect in the underlying W layer.

1401.4617v1

2014-12-12

Asymmetric spin-wave dispersion due to Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in an ultrathin Pt/CoFeB film

Employing Brillouin spectroscopy, strong interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions have been observed in an ultrathin Pt/CoFeB film. Our micromagnetic simulations show that spin-wave nonreciprocity due to asymmetric surface pinning is insignificant for the 0.8nmthick CoFeB film studied. The observed high asymmetry of the monotonic spin wave dispersion relation is thus ascribed to strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions present at the Pt/CoFeB interface. Our findings should further enhance the significance of CoFeB as an important material for magnonic, spintronic and skyrmionic applications.

1412.3907v2

2017-04-11

CoFeAlB alloy with low damping and low magnetization for spin transfer torque switching

We investigate the effect of Al doping on the magnetic properties of the alloy CoFeB. Comparative measurements of the saturation magnetization, the Gilbert damping parameter $\alpha$ and the exchange constant as a function of the annealing temperature for CoFeB and CoFeAlB thin films are presented. Our results reveal a strong reduction of the magnetization for CoFeAlB in comparison to CoFeB. If the prepared CoFeAlB films are amorphous, the damping parameter $\alpha$ is unaffected by the Al doping in comparison to the CoFeB alloy. In contrast, in the case of a crystalline CoFeAlB film, $\alpha$ is found to be reduced. Furthermore, the x-ray characterization and the evolution of the exchange constant with the annealing temperature indicate a similar crystallization process in both alloys. The data proves the suitability of CoFeAlB for spin torque switching properties where a reduction of the switching current in comparison with CoFeB is expected.

1704.03326v1

2019-02-20

CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB structures with orthogonal easy axes: perpendicular anisotropy and damping

We report on the Gilbert damping parameter $\alpha$, the effective magnetization $4\pi M_{eff}$, and the asymmetry of the $g$-factor in bottom-CoFeB(0.93~nm)/MgO(0.90--1.25~nm)/CoFeB(1.31~nm)-top as-deposited systems. Magnetization of CoFeB layers exhibits a specific noncollinear configuration with orthogonal easy axes and with $4\pi M_{eff}$ values of $+2.2$ kG and $-2.3$ kG for the bottom and top layers, respectively. We show that $4\pi M_{eff}$ depends on the asymmetry $g_\perp - g_\parallel$ of the $g$-factor measured in the perpendicular and the in-plane directions revealing a highly nonlinear relationship. In contrast, the Gilbert damping is practically the same for both layers. Annealing of the films results in collinear easy axes perpendicular to the plane for both layers. However, the linewidth is strongly increased due to enhanced inhomogeneous broadening.

1902.07563v1

2017-02-17

Spin-orbit torque in MgO/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/MgO symmetric structure with interlayer antiferromagnetic coupling

Spin current generated by spin Hall effect in the heavy metal would diffuse up and down to adjacent ferromagnetic layers and exert torque on their magnetization, called spin-orbit torque. Antiferromagnetically coupled trilayers, namely the so-called synthetic antiferromagnets (SAF), are usually employed to serve as the pinned layer of spintronic devices based on spin valves and magnetic tunnel junctions to reduce the stray field and/or increase the pinning field. Here we investigate the spin-orbit torque in MgO/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/MgO perpendicularly magnetized multilayer with interlayer antiferromagnetic coupling. It is found that the magnetization of two CoFeB layers can be switched between two antiparallel states simultaneously. This observation is replicated by the theoretical calculations by solving Stoner-Wohlfarth model and Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. Our findings combine spin-orbit torque and interlayer coupling, which might advance the magnetic memories with low stray field and low power consumption.

1702.05331v1

2019-09-27

Observation of spin-orbit magnetoresistance in CoFeB/heavy metal/MgO with existence of both spin Hall effect and Edelstein effect

In this paper, we report the observation of spin-orbit magnetoresistance (SOMR) in ferromagnetic metal/heavy metal/MgO system. We measure the magnetoresistance as the function of the thickness of heavy metal (HM) for CoFeB/HM/MgO and CoFeB/HM films where HM = Pt and Ta. Besides the conventional spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) peak, the evidence of the SOMR is indicated by another peak of the MR ratio when the thickness of HM is around 1 ~ 2 nm for CoFeB/HM/MgO films, which is absent for CoFeB/HM films. We speculate the SOMR observed in our experiment originates from the spin-orbit coupling at the HM/MgO interface. We give the boundary conditions of our samples and calculate the theoretical magnetoresistance based on spin diffusion equation. Based on the theoretical results, we can explain the two peaks we observe separately comes from the spin current generated by spin Hall effect and by Edelstein effect.

1909.12811v3

2021-08-11

Enhancement of in-plane anisotropy in MoS2/CoFeB bilayers

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) possess novel properties which makes them potential candidates for various spintronic applications. Heterostructures of TMD with magnetic thin film have been extensively considered for spin-orbital torque, enhancement of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy etc. However, the effect of TMD on magnetic anisotropy in heterostructures of in-plane magnetization has not been studied so far. Further the effect of the TMD on the domain structure and magnetization reversal of the ferromagnetic system is another important aspect to be understood. In this context we study the effect of MoS2, a well-studied TMD material, on magnetic properties of CoFeB in MoS2/CoFeB heterostructures. The reference CoFeB film possess a weak in-plane anisotropy. However, when the CoFeB is deposited on MoS2 the in-plane anisotropy is enhanced as observed from magneto optic Kerr effect (MOKE) microscopy as well as ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). Magnetic domain structure and magnetization reversal have also been significantly modified for the MoS2/CoFeB bilayer as compared to the reference CoFeB layer. Frequency and angle dependent FMR measurement show that the magnetic anisotropy of CoFeB increases with increase in thickness of MoS2 in the MoS2/CoFeB heterostructures.

2108.05130v1

2023-01-06

Interfacial magnetic anisotropy controlled spin pumping in Co60Fe20B20/Pt stack

Controlled spin transport in magnetic stacks is required to realize pure spin current-driven logic and memory devices. The control over the generation and detection of the pure spin current is achieved by tuning the spin to charge conversion efficiency of the heavy metal interfacing with ferromagnets. Here, we demonstrate the direct tunability of spin angular momentum transfer and thereby spin pumping, in CoFeB/Pt stack, with interfacial magnetic anisotropy. The ultra-low thickness of CoFeB thin film tilts the magnetic easy axis from in-plane to out-of-plane due to surface anisotropy. The Ferromagnetic resonance measurements are performed to investigate the magnetic anisotropy and spin pumping in CoFeB/Pt stacks. We clearly observe tunable spin pumping effect in the CoFeB/Pt stacks with varying CoFeB thicknesses. The spin current density, with varying ferromagnetic layer thickness, is found to increase from 0.11 to 0.24 MA/m2, with increasing in-plane anisotropy field. Such interfacial anisotropy-controlled generation of pure spin current can potentially lead to next-generation anisotropic spin current-controlled spintronic devices.

2301.02370v1

2023-06-05

Spin-orbit torque generation in bilayers composed of CoFeB and epitaxial SrIrO$_{3}$ grown on an orthorhombic DyScO$_{3}$ substrate

We report on the highly efficient spin-orbit torque (SOT) generation in epitaxial SrIrO$_{3}$(SIO), which is grown on an orthorhombic DyScO$_{3}$(110) substrate. By conducting harmonic Hall measurement in Co$_{20}$Fe$_{60}$B$_{20}$ (CoFeB)/SIO bilayers, we characterize two kinds of the SOTs, i.e., dampinglike (DL) and fieldlike ones to find that the former is much larger than the latter. By comparison with the Pt control sample with the same CoFeB thickness, the observed DL SOT efficiency $\xi$$_{DL}$ of SIO ($\sim$0.32) is three times higher than that of Pt ($\sim$0.093). The $\xi$$_{DL}$ is nearly constant as a function of the CoFeB thickness, suggesting that the SIO plays a crucial role in the large SOT generation. These results on the CoFeB/SIO bilayers highlight that the epitaxial SIO is promising for low-current and reliable spin-orbit torque-controlled devices.

2306.02567v1

2005-09-28

Magnetic properties of antiferromagnetically coupled CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB

This work reports on the thermal stability of two amorphous CoFeB layers coupled antiferromagnetically via a thin Ru interlayer. The saturation field of the artificial ferrimagnet which is determined by the coupling, J, is almost independent on the annealing temperature up to more than 300 degree C. An annealing at more than 325 degree C significantly increases the coercivity, Hc, indicating the onset of crystallization.

0509753v1

2008-12-03

Correlation between magnetism and spin-dependent transport in CoFeB alloys

We report a correlation between the spin polarization of the tunneling electrons (TSP) and the magnetic moment of amorphous CoFeB alloys. Such a correlation is surprising since the TSP involves s-like electrons close to the Fermi level (EF), while the magnetic moment mainly arises due to all d-electrons below EF. We show that probing the s and d-bands individually provides clear and crucial evidence for such a correlation to exist through s-d hybridization, and demonstrate the tuneability of the electronic and magnetic properties of CoFeB alloys.

0812.0679v1

2011-10-03

Spin transfer torque oscillator based on asymmetric magnetic tunnel junctions

We present a study of the spin transfer torque oscillator based on CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB asymmetric magnetic tunnel junctions. We observe microwave precession in junctions with different thickness of the free magnetization layer. Taking advantage of the ferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling between the free and reference layer in the MTJ and perpendicular interface anisotropy in thin CoFeB electrode we demonstrate the nanometer scale device that can generate high frequency signal without external magnetic field applied. The amplitude of the oscillation exceeds 10 nV/Hz^0.5 at 1.5 GHz.

1110.0295v1

2014-05-11

Tuning perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in the MgO/CoFeB/Ta thin films

Understanding the magnetic anisotropy at ferromagnetic metal/oxide interface is a fundamental and intriguing subject. Here we propose an approach to manipulate the strength of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) by varying MgO thickness in the MgO/CoFeB/Ta thin films. We identify that the PMA at the MgO/CoFeB interface is tuned by the crystalline structure of bulk MgO layer and decreases dramatically due to the onset of crystalline MgO forming with the increase of MgO thickness. Our work opens an avenue to manipulate the magnetic anisotropy by the modification of the ferromagnetic metal/oxide interface.

1405.2551v2

2017-12-21

Exchange-torque-induced excitation of perpendicular standing spin waves in nanometer-thick YIG films

Spin waves in ferrimagnetic yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films with ultralow magnetic damping are relevant for magnon-based spintronics and low-power wave-like computing. The excitation frequency of spin waves in YIG is rather low in weak external magnetic fields because of its small saturation magnetization, which limits the potential of YIG films for high-frequency applications. Here, we demonstrate how exchange-coupling to a CoFeB film enables efficient excitation of high-frequency perpendicular standing spin waves (PSSWs) in nanometer-thick (80 nm and 295 nm) YIG films using uniform microwave magnetic fields. In the 295-nm-thick YIG film, we measure intense PSSW modes up to 10th order. Strong hybridization between the PSSW modes and the ferromagnetic resonance mode of CoFeB leads to characteristic anti-crossing behavior in broadband spin-wave spectra. A dynamic exchange torque at the YIG/CoFeB interface explains the excitation of PSSWs. The localized torque originates from exchange coupling between two dissimilar magnetization precessions in the YIG and CoFeB layers. As a consequence, spin waves are emitted from the YIG/CoFeB interface and PSSWs form when their wave vector matches the perpendicular confinement condition. PSSWs are not excited when the exchange coupling between YIG and CoFeB is suppressed by a Ta spacer layer. Micromagnetic simulations confirm the exchange-torque mechanism.

1712.08204v1

2020-11-14

Observation of multi-skyrmion objects created by size and density control in Ta/CoFeB/MgO films

Magnetic skyrmions are chiral spin textures with a nontrivial topology that offer a potential for future magnetic memory and storage devices. The controlled formation and adjustment of size and density of magnetic skyrmions in Ta/CoFeB/MgO trilayers is demonstrated. It is the ideal candidate for the use as a bottom electrode integration into CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions. Varying the CoFeB thickness close to the out-of-plane to in-plane magnetic phase transition, we find that subtle energy contributions enable the skyrmion formation in a narrow thickness window, corresponding to only around 10 pm variation in CoFeB thickness. Using magneto-optical imaging with quantitative image processing, variations in skyrmion diameter and distribution below the Abbe limit can be analyzed. We demonstrate a high degree of diameter and density control. Zero-field stable skyrmions can be set with proper magnetic field initialization. This demonstrated tunability and degree of comprehension of skyrmion formation, paves the way for future skyrmion based magnetic memory. Moreover, we demonstrate a controlled merging of individual skyrmions to complex topological objects. We compare our results with the baby-Skyrme model, developed to describe the soliton nature, for any topological charge n, and demonstrate the ability to form multi-skyrmion objects. These objects will be interesting for fundamental mathematical studies of the topological behavior of solitons in the future.

2011.07336v2

2020-11-23

Asymmetric depinning of chiral domain walls in ferromagnetic trilayers

We show that the coupling between two ferromagnetic layers separated by a nonmagnetic spacer can be used to control the depinning of domain walls and induce unidirectional domain wall propagation. We investigated CoFeB/Ti/CoFeB trilayers where the easy axis of the magnetization of the top CoFeB layer is out-of-plane and that of the bottom layer is in-plane. Using Magneto-optic Kerr effect microscopy, we find that the depinning of a domain wall in the perpendicularly magnetized CoFeB layer is influenced by the orientation of the magnetization of the in-plane layer, which gives rise to a field-driven asymmetric domain expansion. This effect occurs due to the magnetic coupling between the internal magnetization of the domain wall and the magnetization of the in-plane CoFeB layer, which breaks the symmetry of up-down and down-up homochiral N\'eel domain walls in the perpendicular CoFeB layer. Micromagnetic simulations support these findings by showing that the interlayer coupling either opposes or favors the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in the domain wall, thereby generating an imbalance in the depinning fields. This effect also allows for artificially controlling the chirality and dynamics of domain walls in magnetic layers lacking a strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.

2011.11290v1

2021-02-16

Magnonic band structure in CoFeB/Ta/NiFe meander-shaped magnetic bilayers

In this work, we investigate the spin-wave propagation in three-dimensional nanoscale CoFeB/Ta/NiFe meander structures fabricated on a structured SiO2/Si substrate. The magnonic band structure has been experimentally determined by wavevector-resolved Brillouin light scattering (BLS) spectroscopy and a set of stationary modes interposed by two dispersive modes of Bloch type have been identified. The results could be understood by micromagnetic and finite element simulations of the mode distributions in both real space and the frequency domain. The dispersive modes periodically oscillate in frequency over the Brillouin zones and correspond to modes, whose spatial distributions extend over the entire sample and are either localized exclusively in the CoFeB layer or the entire CoFeB/Ta/NiFe magnetic bilayer. Stationary modes are mainly concentrated in the vertical segments of the CoFeB and NiFe layers and show negligible amplitudes in the horizon-tal segments. The findings are compared with those of single-layer CoFeB meander structures with the same geometry parameters, which reveals the influence of the dipolar coupling between the two ferromagnetic layers on the magnonic band structure.

2102.08223v2

2016-07-20

MegaOhm Extraordinary Hall effect in oxidized CoFeB

We report on development of controllably oxidized CoFeB ferromagnetic films demonstrating the extraordinary Hall effect (EHE) resistivity exceeding 1 Ohmcm and magnetic field sensitivity up to 10^6 Ohm/T. Such EHE resistivity is four orders of magnitude higher than previously observed in ferromagnetic materials, while sensitivity is two orders larger than the best of semiconductors

1607.05923v1

2016-03-28

Electric-field modulation of exchange stiffness in MgO/CoFeB with perpendicular anisotropy

We observe magnetic domain structures of MgO/CoFeB with a perpendicular magnetic easy axis under an electric field. The domain structure shows a maze pattern with electric-field dependent isotropic period. We find that the electric-field modulation of the period is explained by considering the electric-field modulation of the exchange stiffness constant in addition to the known magnetic anisotropy modulation.

1603.08280v1

2006-10-18

Effect of high annealing temperature on giant tunnel magnetoresistance ratio of CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions

We report tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratios as high as 472% at room temperature and 804% at 5 K in pseudo-spin valve (SV) CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) annealed at 450oC, which is approaching the theoretically predicted value. By contrast, the TMR ratios for exchange-biased (EB) SV MTJs with a MnIr antiferromagnetic layer are found to drop when they are annealed at 450oC. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis shows that annealing at 450oC induces interdiffusion of Mn and Ru atoms into the MgO barrier and ferromagnetic layers in EB-SV MTJs. Mechanisms behind the different annealing behavior are discussed.

0610526v1

2011-08-24

Sub-Poissonian shot noise in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB-based magnetic tunneling junctions

We measured the shot noise in the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB-based magnetic tunneling junctions with a high tunneling magnetoresistance ratio (over 200% at 3 K). Although the Fano factor in the anti-parallel configuration is close to unity, it is observed to be typically 0.91\pm0.01 in the parallel configuration. It indicates the sub-Poissonian process of the electron tunneling in the parallel configuration due to the relevance of the spin-dependent coherent transport in the low bias regime.

1108.4831v1

2011-09-27

Determination of spin-dependent Seebeck coefficients of CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junction nanopillars

We investigate the spin-dependent Seebeck coefficient and the tunneling magneto thermopower of CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) in the presence of thermal gradients across the MTJ. Thermal gradients are generated by an electric heater on top of the nanopillars. The thermo power voltage across the MTJ is found to scale linearly with the heating power and reveals similar field dependence as the tunnel magnetoresistance. The amplitude of the thermal gradient is derived from calibration measurements in combination with finite element simulations of the heat flux. Based on this, large spin-dependent Seebeck coefficients of the order of (240 \pm 110) \muV/K are derived. From additional measurements on MTJs after dielectric breakdown, a tunneling magneto thermopower up to 90% can be derived for 1.5 nm MgO based MTJ nanopillars.

1109.5912v1

2013-01-09

Low-frequency and shot noises in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunneling junctions

The low-frequency and shot noises in spin-valve CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunneling junctions were studied at low temperature. The measured 1/f noise around the magnetic hysteresis loops of the free layer indicates that the main origin of the 1/f noise is the magnetic fluctuation, which is discussed in terms of a fluctuation-dissipation relation. Random telegraph noise (RTN) is observed to be symmetrically enhanced in the hysteresis loop with regard to the two magnetic configurations. We found that this enhancement is caused by the fluctuation between two magnetic states in the free layer. Although the 1/f noise is almost independent of the magnetic configuration, the RTN is enhanced in the antiparallel configuration. These findings indicate the presence of spin-dependent activation of RTN. Shot noise reveals the spin-dependent coherent tunneling process via a crystalline MgO barrier.

1301.2161v1

2013-05-31

Effect of Thermal Annealing on Boron Diffusion, Micro-structural, Electrical and Magnetic properties of Laser Ablated CoFeB Thin Films

We report on Boron diffusion and subsequent crystallization of Co$_{40}$Fe$_{40}$B$_{20}$ (CoFeB) thin films on SiO$_2$/Si(001) substrate using pulsed laser deposition. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy reveals Boron diffusion at the interface in both amorphous and crystalline phase of CoFeB. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals a small fraction of nano-crystallites embedded in the amorphous matrix of CoFeB. However, annealing at 400$^\circ$C results in crystallization of CoFe with \textit{bcc} structure along (110) orientation. As-deposited films are non-metallic in nature with the coercivity (H$_c$) of 5Oe while the films annealed at 400$^\circ$C are metallic with a H$_c$ of 135Oe.

1305.7335v1

2015-03-02

Exchange bias effect in martensitic epitaxial Ni-Mn-Sn thin films applied to pin CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions

The exchange bias effect is commonly used to shift the coercive field of a ferromagnet. This technique is crucial for the use of magnetic tunnel junctions as logic or memory devices. Therefore, an independent switching of the two ferromagnetic electrodes is necessary to guarantee a reliable readout. Here, we demonstrate that the intrinsic exchange bias effect of Ni-Mn-Sn can be used to apply a unidirectional anisotropy to magnetic tunnel junctions. For this, we use epitaxial Ni-Mn-Sn films as pinning layers for microfabricated CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions. We compare the exchange bias field ($H_{\text{EB}}$) measured after field cooling in $-10$\,kOe external field by magnetization measurements with $H_{\text{EB}}$ obtained from tunnel magnetoresistance measurements. Consistent for both methods we find an exchange bias of about $H_{\text{EB}}=130$\,Oe at 10\,K, which decreases with increasing temperature and vanishes above 70\,K.

1503.00440v2

2015-03-12

Current induced torques in structures with ultra-thin IrMn antiferromagnet

Relativistic current induced torques and devices utilizing antiferromagnets have been independently considered as two promising new directions in spintronics research. Here we report electrical measurements of the torques in structures comprising a $\sim1$~nm thick layer of an antiferromagnet IrMn. The reduced N\'eel temperature and the thickness comparable to the spin-diffusion length allow us to investigate the role of the antiferromagnetic order in the ultra-thin IrMn films in the observed torques. In a Ta/IrMn/CoFeB structure, IrMn in the high-temperature phase diminishes the torque in the CoFeB ferromagnet. At low temperatures, the antidamping torque in CoFeB flips sign as compared to the reference Ta/CoFeB structure, suggesting that IrMn in the antiferromagnetic phase governs the net torque acting on the ferromagnet. At low temperatures, current induced torque signatures are observed also in a Ta/IrMn structure comprising no ferromagnetic layer.

1503.03729v2

2015-09-14

Thickness-Dependent Magnetoelasticity and its Effects on Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in Ta|CoFeB|MgO Thin Films

We report measurements of the in-plane magnetoelastic coupling in ultra-thin Ta|CoFeB|MgO layers as a function of uniaxial strain, conducted using a four-point bending apparatus. For annealed samples, we observe a strong dependence on the thickness of the CoFeB layer in the range 1.3-2.0 nm, which can be modeled as arising from a combination of effective surface and volume contributions to the magnetoelastic coupling. We point out that if similar thickness dependence exists for magnetoelastic coupling in response to biaxial strain, then the standard N\'eel model for the magnetic anisotropy energy acquires a term inversely proportional to the magnetic layer thickness. This contribution can significantly change the overall magnetic anisotropy, and provides a natural explanation for the strongly nonlinear dependence of magnetic anisotropy energy on magnetic layer thickness that is commonly observed for ultrathin annealed CoFeB|MgO films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

1509.04134v1

2015-10-20

Evaluation of Spin Waves and Ferromagnetic Resonance Contribution to the Spin Pumping in Ta/CoFeB Structure

The spin waves and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) contribution to the spin pumping signal is studied in the Ta/CoFeB interface under different excitation bias fields. Ferromagnetic resonance is excited utilizing a coplanar waveguide and a microwave generator. Using a narrow waveguide of about 3 {\mu}m, magnetostatic surface spin waves with large wavevector (k) of about 0.81 {\mu}m^-1 are excited. A large k value results in dissociation of spin waves and FMR frequencies according to the surface spin wave dispersion relation. Spin waves and FMR contribution to the spin pumping are calculated based on the area under the Lorentzian curve fitting over experimental results. It is found that the FMR over spin waves contribution is about 1 at large bias fields in Ta/CoFeB structure. Based on our spin pumping results, we propose a method to characterize the spin wave decay constant which is found to be about 5.5 {\mu}m in the Ta/CoFeB structure at a bias field of 600 Oe.

1510.05745v1

2016-10-08

Perpendicularly magnetized CoFeB multilayers with tunable interlayer exchange for synthetic ferrimagnets

A study of the multilayer system MgO/CoFeB(1.1nm)/Ta($t$)/CoFeB(0.8nm)/MgO is presented, where the two CoFeB layers are separated by a Ta interlayer of varying thickness $t$. The magnetization properties deduced from complementary techniques such as superconducting quantum interference magnetometry, ferromagnetic resonance frequency measurements and Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy can be tuned by changing the Ta thickness between $t$=0.25 nm, 0.5 nm and 0.75 nm. For $t$=0.5 nm, a ferromagnetic coupling is observed, whereas for t=0.75 nm, the antiferromagnetic coupling needed to construct a synthetic ferrimagnet is realized. In the later case, the shape of magnetic domain walls between two ferrimagnetic alignments or between a ferro- and a ferrimagnetic alignment is very different. This behavior can be interpreted as a result of the change in dipolar as well as interlayer exchange energy and domain wall pinning, which is an important conclusion for the realization of data storage devices based on synthetic ferri- and antiferromagnets.

1610.02550v1

2017-01-05

Excitation and detection of short-waved spin waves in ultrathin Ta/CoFeB/MgO-layer system suitable for spin-orbit-torque magnonics

We report on the excitation and detection of short-waved spin waves with wave vectors up to about $40\,\mathrm{rad}\,\mu\mathrm{m}^{-1}$ in spin-wave waveguides made from ultrathin, in-plane magnetized Co$_{8}$Fe$_{72}$B$_{20}$ (CoFeB). The CoFeB is incorporated in a layer stack of Ta/CoFeB/Mgo, a layer system featuring large spin orbit torques and a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy constant. The short-waved spin waves are excited by nanometric coplanar waveguides and are detected via spin rectification and microfocussed Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. We show that the large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy benefits the spin-wave lifetime greatly, resulting in a lifetime comparable to bulk systems without interfacial damping. The presented results pave the way for the successful extension of magnonics to ultrathin asymmetric layer stacks featuring large spin orbit torques.

1701.01399v1

2017-01-31

Lack of correlation between the spin mixing conductance and the ISHE-generated voltages in CoFeB/Pt,Ta bilayers

We investigate spin pumping phenomena in polycrystalline CoFeB/Pt and CoFeB/Ta bilayers and the correlation between the effective spin mixing conductance $g^{\uparrow\downarrow}_{\rm eff}$ and the obtained voltages generated by the spin-to-charge current conversion via the inverse spin Hall effect in the Pt and Ta layers. For this purpose we measure the in-plane angular dependence of the generated voltages on the external static magnetic field and we apply a model to separate the spin pumping signal from the one generated by the spin rectification effect in the magnetic layer. Our results reveal a dominating role of anomalous Hall effect for the spin rectification effect with CoFeB and a lack of correlation between $g^{\uparrow\downarrow}_{\rm eff}$ and inverse spin Hall voltages pointing to a strong role of the magnetic proximity effect in Pt in understanding the observed increased damping. This is additionally reflected on the presence of a linear dependency of the Gilbert damping parameter on the Pt thickness.

1701.09110v1

2017-03-21

Influence of magnetic field and ferromagnetic film thickness on domain pattern transfer in multiferroic heterostructures

Domains in BaTiO$_3$ induces a regular modulation of uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in CoFeB via an inverse magnetostriction effect. As a result, the domain structures of the CoFeB wedge film and BaTiO$_3$ substrate correlate fully and straight ferroelectric domain boundaries in BaTiO$_3$ pin magnetic domain walls in CoFeB. We use x-ray photoemission electron microscopy and magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy to characterize the spin structure of the pinned domain walls. In a rotating magnetic field, abrupt and reversible transitions between two domain wall types occur, namely, narrow walls where the magnetization vectors align head-to-tail and much broader walls with alternating head-to-head and tail-to-tail magnetization configurations. We characterize variations of the domain wall spin structure as a function of magnetic field strength and CoFeB film thickness and compare the experimental results with micromagnetic simulations.

1703.07227v1

2018-05-31

The current-induced spin-orbit torque and field-free switching from Mo-based magnetic heterostructures

Magnetic heterostructure Mo/CoFeB/MgO has strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and thermal stability. Through current-induced hysteresis loop shift measurements, we show that the dampinglike spin-orbit torque (SOT) efficiency of Mo/CoFeB/MgO heterostructure is $\xi_{DL}\approx -0.003\pm 0.001$ and fairly independent of the annealing temperature from 300$^\circ$C to 400$^\circ$C. Though $|\xi_{DL}|$ is small while compare to those from Ta or W-based heterostructures, reversible current-induced SOT switching of a thermally-stable Mo/CoFeB/MgO heterostruture can still be achieved. Furthermore, we observe field-free current-induced switching from a Mo/CoFeB/MgO structure with the Mo layer being wedge-deposited. Our results indicate that even for a weak spin-orbit interaction 4d transition metal such as Mo, it is still possible to generate sufficient spin current for conventional SOT switching and to realize field-free current-induced switching by structural engineering.

1805.12322v3

2014-06-08

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and magnetization process in CoFeB/Pd multilayer films

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and dynamic magnetization reversal process in [CoFeB $t$ nm/Pd 1.0 nm]$_n$ ($t$ = 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2 nm; $n$ = 2 - 20) multilayer films have been studied by means of magnetic hysteresis and Kerr effect measurements. Strong and controllable PMA with an effective uniaxial anisotropy up to 7.7$\times$ 10$^6$ J.m$^{-3}$ and a saturation magnetization as low as 200 emu/cc are achieved. Surface/interfacial anisotropy of CoFeB/Pd interfaces, the main contribution to the PMA, is separated from the effective uniaxial anisotropy of the films, and appears to increase with the number of the CoFeB/Pd bilayers. Observation of the magnetic domains during a magnetization reversal process using polar magneto-optical Kerr microscopy shows the detailed behavior of nucleation and displacement of the domain walls.

1406.2028v1

2021-01-26

Voltage-controlled antiferromagnetism in magnetic tunnel junctions

We demonstrate a voltage-controlled exchange bias effect in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions that is related to the interfacial Fe(Co)Ox formed between the CoFeB electrodes and the MgO barrier. The unique combination of interfacial antiferromagnetism, giant tunneling magnetoresistance, and sharp switching of the perpendicularly-magnetized CoFeB allows sensitive detection of the exchange bias. It is found that the exchange bias field can be isothermally controlled by magnetic fields at low temperatures. More importantly, the exchange bias can also be effectively manipulated by the electric field applied to the MgO barrier due to the voltage-controlled antiferromagnetic anisotropy in this system.

2101.11044v1

2023-07-27

Interfacial Resonance States-Induced Negative Tunneling Magneto-resistance in Orthogonally-Magnetized CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB

Magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs) are essential for non-volatile magneto-resistive random access memory (MRAM) applications. Here, we report the observation of a large negative tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) in the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB system with an orthogonally-magnetized configuration. Through the thickness modulation of the MgO barrier, the negative TMR component can be enhanced up to 20% under a negative voltage bias. Moreover, the tunnel anisotropic magneto-resistance measurements unveil that the negative TMR component likely arises from the interfacial resonance states (IRS) in the minority band of the bottom ferromagnetic layer. Complementary first principle calculations further quantify the IRS location and strength with respect to the Fermi level position. Our work not only confirm the vital role of IRS in the electrical transport of MTJ, but also provide valuable insights for the design of new-generation voltage-controlled MRAM and related spintronic applications.

2307.14807v1

2024-01-26

Efficient Control of Magnetization Dynamics Via W/CuO$_\text{x}$ Interface

Magnetization dynamics, which determine the speed of magnetization switching and spin information propagation, play a central role in modern spintronics. Gaining its control will satisfy the different needs of various spintronic devices. In this work, we demonstrate that the surface oxidized Cu (CuO$_\text{x}$) can be employed for the tunability of magnetization dynamics of ferromagnet (FM)/heavy metal (HM) bilayer system. The capping CuO$_\text{x}$ layer in CoFeB/W/CuO$_\text{x}$ trilayer reduces the magnetic damping value in comparison with the CoFeB/W bilayer. The magnetic damping even becomes lower than that of the CoFeB/CuO$_\text{x}$ by ~ 16% inferring the stabilization of anti-damping phenomena. Further, the reduction in damping is accompanied by a very small reduction in the spin pumping-induced output DC voltage in the CoFeB/W/CuO$_\text{x}$ trilayer. The simultaneous observation of anti-damping and spin-to-charge conversion can be attributed to the orbital Rashba effect observed at the HM/CuO$_\text{x}$ interface. Our experimental findings illustrate that the cost-effective CuO$_\text{x}$ can be employed as an integral part of modern spintronics devices owing to its rich underneath spin-orbital physics.

2401.14708v1

2019-04-23

Spin injection and pumping generated by a direct current flowing through a magnetic tunnel junction

A charge flow through a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) leads to the generation of a spin-polarized current which exerts a spin-transfer torque (STT) on the magnetization. When the density of applied direct current exceeds some critical value, the STT excites high-frequency magnetization precession in the "free" electrode of MTJ. Such precession gives rise to microwave output voltage and, furthermore, can be employed for spin pumping into adjacent normal metal or semiconductor. Here we describe theoretically the spin dynamics and charge transport in the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB/Au tunneling heterostructure connected to a constant-current source. The magnetization dynamics in the free CoFeB layer with weak perpendicular anisotropy is calculated by numerical integration of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert-Slonczewski equation accounting for both STT and voltage controlled magnetic anisotropy associated with the CoFeB|MgO interface. It is shown that a large-angle magnetization precession, resulting from electrically induced dynamic spin reorientation transition, can be generated in a certain range of relatively low current densities. An oscillating spin current, which is pumped into the Au overlayer owing to such precession, is then evaluated together with the injected spin current. Considering both the driving spin-polarized charge current and the pumped spin current, we also describe the charge transport in the CoFeB/Au bilayer with the account of anomalous and inverse spin Hall effects. An electric potential difference between the lateral sides of the CoFeB/Au bilayer is calculated as a function of distance from the CoFeB|MgO interface. It is found that this transverse voltage signal in Au is large enough for experimental detection, which indicates significant efficiency of the proposed current-driven spin injector.

1904.10361v1

2016-05-20

Elementary specific spin and orbital moments of ultrathin CoFeB amorphous films on GaAs(100)

Nanoscale CoFeB amorphous films have been synthesized on GaAs(100) and studied with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We have found that the ratios of the orbital to spin magnetic moments of both the Co and Fe in the ultrathin amorphous film have been enhanced by more than 300% compared with those of the bulk crystalline Co and Fe, and in specifically, a large orbital moment of 0.56*10^-6 B from the Co atoms has been observed and at the same time the spin moment of the Co atoms remains comparable to that of the bulk hcp Co. The results indicate that the large uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA) observed in the ultrathin CoFeB film on GaAs(100) is related to the enhanced spin-orbital coupling of the Co atoms in the CoFeB. This work offers experimental evidences of the correlation between the UMA and the elementary specific spin and orbital moments in the CoFeB amorphous film on the GaAs(100) substrate, which is significant for spintronics applications.

1605.06358v1

2020-07-24

Determination of the spin Hall angle, spin mixing conductance and spin diffusion length in Ir/CoFeB for spin-orbitronic devices

Iridium is a very promising material for spintronic applications due to its interesting magnetic properties such as large RKKY exchange coupling as well as its large spin-orbit coupling value. Ir is for instance used as a spacer layer for perpendicular synthetic antiferromagnetic or ferrimagnet systems. However, only a few studies of the spintronic parameters of this material have been reported. In this paper, we present inverse spin Hall effect - spin pumping ferromagnetic resonance measurements on CoFeB/Ir based bilayers to estimate the values of the effective spin Hall angle, the spin diffusion length within iridium, and the spin mixing conductance in the CoFeB/Ir bilayer. In order to have reliable results, we performed the same experiments on CoFeB/Pt bilayers, which behavior is well known due to numerous reported studies. Our experimental results show that the spin diffusion length within iridium is 1.3 nm for resistivity of 250 n$\Omega$.m, the spin mixing conductance $g_{eff}^{\uparrow \downarrow}$ of the CoFeB/Ir interface is 30 nm$^{-2}$, and the spin Hall angle of iridium has the same sign than the one of platinum and is evaluated at 26% of the one of platinum. The value of the spin Hall angle found is 7.7% for Pt and 2% for Ir. These relevant parameters shall be useful to consider Ir in new concepts and devices combining spin-orbit torque and spin-transfer torque.

2007.12413v1

2010-06-21

Magnonic spin-wave modes in CoFeB antidot lattices

In this manuscript time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect experiments on structured CoFeB films are presented. The geometries considered are two dimensional square lattices of micrometer-sized antidots, fabricated by a focused ion beam. The spin-wave spectra of these magnonic crystals show a novel precessional mode, which can be related to a Bloch state at the zone boundary. Additionally, another magnetic mode of different nature appears, whose frequency displays no dependence on the externally applied magnetic field. These findings are interpreted as delocalized and localized modes, respectively.

1006.4038v1

2012-02-23

Domain structure in CoFeB thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Domain structures in CoFeB-MgO thin films with a perpendicular easy magnetization axis were observed by magneto-optic Kerr-effect microscopy at various temperatures. The domain wall surface energy was obtained by analyzing the spatial period of the stripe domains and fitting established domain models to the period. In combination with SQUID measurements of magnetization and anisotropy energy, this leads to an estimate of the exchange stiffness and domain wall width in these films. These parameters are essential for determining whether domain walls will form in patterned structures and devices made of such materials.

1202.5128v1

2012-08-27

Spin-wave modes and band structure of rectangular CoFeB antidot lattices

We present an investigation of rectangular antidot lattices in a CoFeB film. Magnonic band structures are numerically calculated, and band gaps are predicted which shift in frequency by 0.9 GHz when rotating the external field from the long to the short axis of the unit cell. We demonstrate by time-resolved experiments that magnonic dipolar surface modes are split in frequency by 0.6 GHz which agrees well with the theoretical prediction. These findings provide the basis for directional spin-wave filtering with magnonic devices.

1208.5339v1

2013-07-24

Measurement of magnetization using domain compressibility in CoFeB films with perpendicular anisotropy

We present a method to map the saturation magnetization of soft ultrathin films with perpendicular anisotropy, and we illustrate it to assess the compositional dependence of the magnetization of CoFeB(1 nm)/MgO films. The method relies on the measurement of the dipolar repulsion of parallel domain walls that define a linear domain. The film magnetization is linked to the field compressibility of the domain. The method also yields the minimal distance between two walls before their merging, which sets a practical limit to the storage density in spintronic devices using domain walls as storage entities.

1307.6479v1

2016-08-08

Temperature dependence of the spin Hall angle and switching current in the nc-W(O)/CoFeB/MgO system with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

We investigated the temperature dependence of the switching current for a perpendicularly magnetized CoFeB film deposited on a nanocrystalline tungsten film with large oxygen content: nc-W(O). The spin Hall angle $|\Theta_\mathrm{SH}| \approx 0.22$ is independent of temperature, whereas the switching current increases strongly at low temperature. We show that the nc-W(O) is insensitive to annealing. It thus can be a good choice for the integration of spin Hall driven writing of information in magnetic memory or logic devices that require a high-temperature annealing process during fabrication.

1608.02528v1

2017-06-20

Scaling of the Hall effects beyond the quantum resistance threshold in oxidized CoFeB

The ordinary and the extraordinary Hall effects were studied in gradually oxidized amorphous CoFeB ferromagnets over six orders of resistivity from the metallic to the strongly insulating regime. Polarity of the extraordinary Hall effect reverses, and the amplitude of both the ordinary and the extraordinary Hall effects increases quadratically with resistivity when resistance exceeds the quantum resistance threshold. The absolute value of the extraordinary Hall effect scales linearly with the ordinary one in the entire range over eight orders of magnitude between the metallic and the insulating states. The behavior differs qualitatively and quantitatively from theoretically predicted and experimentally known in other materials.

1706.06392v1

2021-01-28

Voltage Controlled Spin-Orbit Torque Switching in W/CoFeB/MgO

Voltage control of magnetism and spintronics have been highly desirable, but rarely realized. In this work, we show voltage-controlled spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching in W/CoFeB/MgO films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) with voltage administered through SrTiO3 with a high dielectric constant. We show that a DC voltage can significantly lower PMA by 45%, reduce switching current by 23%, and increase the damping-like torque as revealed by the first and second-harmonic measurements. These are characteristics that are prerequisites for voltage-controlled and voltage-select SOT switching spintronic devices.

2101.12281v1

2023-11-16

Unidirectional propagation of zero-momentum magnons

We report on experimental observation of unidirectional propagation of zero-momentum magnons in synthetic antiferromagnet consisting of strained CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB trilayer. Inherent non-reciprocity of spin waves in synthetic antiferromagnets with uniaxial anisotropy results in smooth and monotonous dispersion relation around Gamma point, where the direction of the phase velocity is reversed, while the group velocity direction is conserved. The experimental observation of this phenomenon by intensity-, phase-, and time-resolved Brillouin light scattering microscopy is corroborated by analytical models and micromagnetic simulations.

2311.10044v1

2014-10-14

Low frequency noise peak near magnon emission energy in magnetic tunnel junctions

We report on the low frequency (LF) noise measurements in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) below 4 K and at low bias, where the transport is strongly affected by scattering with magnons emitted by hot tunnelling electrons, as thermal activation of magnons from the environment is suppressed. For both CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB and CoFeB/AlO$_{x}$/CoFeB MTJs, enhanced LF noise is observed at bias voltage around magnon emission energy, forming a peak in the bias dependence of noise power spectra density, independent of magnetic configurations. The noise peak is much higher and broader for unannealed AlO$_{x}$-based MTJ, and besides Lorentzian shape noise spectra in the frequency domain, random telegraph noise (RTN) is visible in the time traces. During repeated measurements the noise peak reduces and the RTN becomes difficult to resolve, suggesting defects being annealed. The Lorentzian shape noise spectra can be fitted with bias-dependent activation of RTN, with the attempt frequency in the MHz range, consistent with magnon dynamics. These findings suggest magnon-assisted activation of defects as the origin of the enhanced LF noise.

1410.3586v2

2015-05-05

Large spin Hall magnetoresistance and its correlation to the spin-orbit torque in W/CoFeB/MgO structures

The spin-orbit interaction in heavy metal/ferromagnet/oxide structures has been extensively investigated because it can be employed in manipulation of the magnetization direction by in-plane current. This implies the existence of an inverse effect, in which the conductivity in such structures should depend on the magnetization orientation. In this work, we report a systematic study of the magnetoresistance (MR) of the W/CoFeB/MgO structures and its correlation to the current-induced torque to the magnetization. We observe that the MR is independent of the angle between magnetization and current direction, but is determined by the relative magnetization orientation with respect to the spin direction accumulated by spin Hall effect, which is the same symmetry of so-called spin Hall magnetoresistance. The MR of ~1% in W/CoFeB/MgO samples is considerably larger than those in other structures of Ta/CoFeB/MgO or Pt/Co/AlOx, which indicates a larger spin Hall angle of W. Moreover, the similar W thickness dependence of the MR and the current-induced magnetization switching efficiency demonstrates that they share the same underlying physics, which allows one to utilize the MR in non-magnet/ferromagnet structure in order to understand closely related other spin-orbit coupling effects such as inverse spin Hall effect, spin-orbit spin transfer torques, etc.

1505.00899v1

2020-04-07

Electrical spin injection into InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells: a comparison between MgO tunnel barriers grown by sputtering and molecular beam epitaxy methods

An efficient electrical spin injection into an InGaAs/GaAs quantum well light emitting diode is demonstrated thanks to a CoFeB/MgO spin injector. The textured MgO tunnel barrier is fabricated by two different techniques: sputtering and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The maximal spin injection efficiency is comparable for both methods. Additionally, the effect of annealing is also investigated for the two types of samples. Both samples show the same trend: an increase of the electroluminescence circular polarization (Pc) with the increase of annealing temperature, followed by a saturation of Pc beyond 350{\deg}C annealing. Since the increase of Pc starts well below the crystallization temperature of the full CoFeB bulk layer, this trend could be mainly due to an improvement of chemical structure at the top CoFeB/MgO interface. This study reveals that the control of CoFeB/MgO interface is essential important for an optimal spin injection into semiconductor.

2004.03292v1

2020-06-04

Heisenberg Exchange and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction in Ultrathin CoFeB Single and Multilayers

We present results of the analysis of Brillouin Light Scattering (BLS) measurements of spin waves performed on ultrathin single and multirepeat CoFeB layers with adjacent heavy metal layers. From a detailed study of the spin-wave dispersion relation, we independently extract the Heisenberg exchange interaction (also referred to as symmetric exchange interaction), the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI, also referred to as antisymmetric exchange interaction), and the anisotropy field. We find a large DMI in CoFeB thin films adjacent to a Pt layer and nearly vanishing DMI for CoFeB films adjacent to a W layer. Furthermore, the residual influence of the dipolar interaction on the dispersion relation and on the evaluation of the Heisenberg exchange parameter is demonstrated. In addition, an experimental analysis of the DMI on the spin-wave lifetime is presented. All these parameters play a crucial role in designing skyrmionic or spin-orbitronic devices.

2006.02690v1

2020-06-25

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction at an oxide/ferromagnetic metal interface

We report on the study of both perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) at an oxide/ferromagnetic metal (FM) interface, i.e. BaTiO3 (BTO)/CoFeB. Thanks to the functional properties of the BTO film and the capability to precisely control its growth, we are able to distinguish the dominant role of the oxide termination (TiO2 vs BaO), from the moderate effect of ferroelectric polarization in the BTO film, on the PMA and DMI at the oxide/FM interface. We find that the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy of the BaO-BTO/CoFeB structure is two times larger than that of the TiO2-BTO/CoFeB, while the DMI of the TiO2-BTO/CoFeB interface is larger. We explain the observed phenomena by first-principles calculations, which ascribe them to the different electronic states around the Fermi level at the oxide/ferromagnetic metal interfaces and the different spin-flip processes. This study paves the way for further investigation of the PMA and DMI at various oxide/FM structures and thus their applications in the promising field of energy-efficient devices.

2006.14268v1

2020-09-29

Structural Phase Dependent Giant Interfacial Spin Transparency in W/CoFeB Thin Film Heterostructure

Pure spin current has transfigured the energy-efficient spintronic devices and it has the salient characteristic of transport of the spin angular momentum. Spin pumping is a potent method to generate pure spin current and for its increased efficiency high effective spin-mixing conductance (Geff) and interfacial spin transparency (T) are essential. Here, a giant T is reported in Sub/W(t)/Co20Fe60B20(d)/SiO2(2 nm) heterostructures in \beta-tungsten (\beta-W) phase by employing all-optical time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect technique. From the variation of Gilbert damping with W and CoFeB thicknesses, the spin diffusion length of W and spin-mixing conductances are extracted. Subsequently, T is derived as 0.81 \pm 0.03 for the \beta-W/CoFeB interface. A sharp variation of Geff and T with W thickness is observed in consonance with the thickness-dependent structural phase transition and resistivity of W. The spin memory loss and two-magnon scattering effects are found to have negligible contributions to damping modulation as opposed to spin pumping effect which is reconfirmed from the invariance of damping with Cu spacer layer thickness inserted between W and CoFeB. The observation of giant interfacial spin transparency and its strong dependence on crystal structures of W will be important for pure spin current based spin-orbitronic devices.

2009.14143v1

2022-06-10

Large anomalous unidirectional magnetoresistance in a single ferromagnetic layer

Unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR) in a ferromagnetic bilayer due to the spin Hall effects (SHEs) provides a facile means of probing in-plane magnetization to avoid complex magnetic tunnel junctions. However, the UMR signal is very weak and usually requires a lock-in amplifier for detection even in the bilayer involving Ta or Pt with a large spin Hall angle (SHA). Here we report a type of UMR, termed as the anomalous UMR (AUMR), in a single CoFeB layer without any adjacent SHE layers, where the UMR signal is about 10 times larger than that in Ta/CoFeB structures and can be detected by using conventional dc multimeters in the absence of lock-in amplifiers. We further demonstrate that the extracted AUMR by excluding thermal contributions shows reversal signs for the CoFeB and NiFe single layers with opposite SHAs, indicating that the AUMR may originate from the self-generated spin accumulation interacting with magnetization through the giant magnetoresistance-like mechanism. These results suggest that the AUMR contributes UMR signals larger than the interfacial spin Hall UMR in the CoFeB-involved systems, providing a convenient and reliable approach to detect in-plane magnetization for the two-terminal spintronic devices.

2206.04851v1

2022-06-14

Probing of large interfacial contribution to spin orbit coupling in CoFeB/Ta heterostructure by ultrafast THz emission spectroscopy

Ultrafast THz radiation generation from ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic bilayer heterostructure-based spintronic emitters generally exploits the conversion from spin- to charge-current within the nonmagnetic layer and its interface with the ferromagnetic layer. Various possible sub-contributions to the underlying mechanism of inverse spin Hall effect for the THz emission from such structures, need to be exploited for not only investigating the intricacies at the fundamental level in the material properties themselves but also for improving their performance for broadband and high-power THz emission. Here, we report ultrafast THz emission from CoFeB/Ta bilayer at varying sample temperatures in a large range to unravel the role of intrinsic and extrinsic spin to charge conversion processes. In addition to an enhancement in the THz emission, its temperature dependence shows a THz signal polarity reversal if the CoFeB/Ta sample is annealed at an elevated temperature. We extract the behaviour of the spin Hall resistivity, determine the intrinsic spin Hall conductivity contribution in it and compare those with the standard Fe/Pt system. Our results clearly demonstrate a giant interfacial contribution to the overall spin Hall angle arising from the modified interface in the annealed CoFeB/Ta, where a sign reversal in the corresponding spin Hall angle is manifested from the THz amplitude variation with the temperature.

2206.06718v2

2022-08-31

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in as-deposited CoFeB/MgO thin films

Fabrication of perpendicularly magnetized ferromagnetic films on various buffer layers, especially on numerous newly discovered spin-orbit torque (SOT) materials to construct energy-efficient spin-orbitronic devices, is a long-standing challenge. Even for the widely used CoFeB/MgO structures, perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) can only be established on limited buffer layers through post-annealing above 300 {\deg}C. Here, we report that the PMA of CoFeB/MgO films can be established reliably on various buffer layers in the absence of post-annealing. Further results show that precise control of MgO thickness, which determines oxygen diffusion in the underneath CoFeB layer, is the key to obtaining the as-deposited PMA. Interestingly, contrary to previous understanding, post-annealing does not influence the well-established as-deposited PMA significantly but indeed enhances unsaturated PMA with a thick MgO layer by modulating oxygen distributions, rather than crystallinity or Co- and Fe-O bonding. Moreover, our results indicate that oxygen diffusion also plays a critical role in the PMA degradation at high temperature. These results provide a practical approach to build spin-orbitronic devices based on various high-efficient SOT materials.

2208.14913v1

2023-11-20

Interplay between moment-dependent and field-driven unidirectional magnetoresistance in CoFeB/InSb/CdTe heterostructures

Magnetoresistance effects are crucial for understanding the charge/spin transport as well as propelling the advancement of spintronic applications. Here we report the coexistence of magnetic moment-dependent (MD) and magnetic field-driven (FD) unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR) effects in CoFeB/InSb/CdTe heterostructures. The strong spin-orbital coupling of InSb and the matched impedance at the CoFeB/InSb interface warrant a distinct MD-UMR effect at room temperature, while the interaction between the in-plane magnetic field and the Rashba effect at the InSb/CdTe interface induces the marked FD-UMR signal that dominates the high-field region. Moreover, owning to the different spin transport mechanisms, these two types of nonreciprocal charge transport show opposite polarities with respect to the magnetic field direction, which further enable an effective phase modulation of the angular-dependent magnetoresistance. Besides, the demonstrations of both the tunable UMR response and two-terminal spin-orbit torque-driven magnetization switching validate our CoFeB/InSb/CdTe system as a suitable integrated building block for multifunctional spintronic device design.

2311.11843v1

2024-03-05

Orbital torque switching in perpendicularly magnetized materials

The orbital Hall effect in light materials has attracted considerable attention for developing novel orbitronic devices. Here we investigate the orbital torque efficiency and demonstrate the switching of the perpendicularly magnetized materials through the orbital Hall material (OHM), i.e., Zirconium (Zr). The orbital torque efficiency of approximately 0.78 is achieved in the Zr OHM with the perpendicularly magnetized [Co/Pt]3 sample, which significantly surpasses that of the perpendicularly magnetized CoFeB/Gd/CoFeB sample (approximately 0.04). Such notable difference is attributed to the different spin-orbit correlation strength between the [Co/Pt]3 sample and the CoFeB/Gd/CoFeB sample, which has been confirmed through the theoretical calculations. Furthermore, the full magnetization switching of the [Co/Pt]3 sample with a switching current density of approximately 2.6x106 A/cm2 has been realized through Zr, which even outperforms that of the W spin Hall material. Our finding provides a guideline to understand orbital torque efficiency and paves the way to develop energy-efficient orbitronic devices.

2403.03043v1

2005-10-20

Dependence of tunnel magnetoresistance in MgO based magnetic tunnel junctions on Ar pressure during MgO sputtering

We investigated dependence of tunnel magnetoresistance effect in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions on Ar pressure during MgO-barrier sputtering. Sputter deposition of MgO-barrier at high Ar pressure of 10 mTorr resulted in smooth surface and highly (001) oriented MgO. Using this MgO as a tunnel barrier, tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio as high as 355% at room temperature (578% at 5K) was realized after annealing at 325 C or higher, which appears to be related to a highly (001) oriented CoFeB texture promoted by the smooth and highly oriented MgO. Electron-beam lithography defined deep-submicron MTJs having a low-resistivity Au underlayer with the high-pressure deposited MgO showed high TMR ratio at low resistance-area product (RA) below 10 ohm-um^2 as 27% at RA = 0.8 ohm-um^2, 77% at RA = 1.1 ohm-um^2, 130% at RA = 1.7 ohm-um^2, and 165% at RA = 2.9 ohm-um^2.

0510531v1

2005-10-20

Current-driven magnetization switching in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions

Current-driven magnetization switching in low-resistance Co40Fe40B20/MgO/Co40Fe40B20 magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) is reported. The critical-current densities Jc required for current-driven switching in samples annealed at 270C and 300C are found to be as low as 7.8 x 10^5 A/cm^2 and 8.8 x 10^5 A/cm^2 with accompanying tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratios of 49% and 73 %, respectively. Further annealing of the samples at 350C increases TMR ratio to 160 %, while accompanying Jc increases to 2.5 x 10^6 A/cm^2. We attribute the low Jc to the high spin-polarization of tunnel current and small MsV product of the CoFeB single free layer, where Ms is the saturation magnetization and V the volume of the free layer.

0510538v1

2006-09-13

Current-induced magnetization switching in MgO barrier based magnetic tunnel junctions with CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB synthetic ferrimagnetic free layer

We report the intrinsic critical current density (Jc0) in current-induced magnetization switching and the thermal stability factor (E/kBT, where E, kB, and T are the energy potential, the Boltzmann constant, and temperature, respectively) in MgO based magnetic tunnel junctions with a Co40Fe40B20(2nm)/Ru(0.7-2.4nm)/Co40Fe40B20(2nm) synthetic ferrimagnetic (SyF) free layer. We show that Jc0 and E/kBT can be determined by analyzing the average critical current density as a function of coercivity using the Slonczewski's model taking into account thermal fluctuation. We find that high antiferromagnetic coupling between the two CoFeB layers in a SyF free layer results in reduced Jc0 without reducing high E/kBT.

0609306v2

2009-08-15

Thermal-magnetic noise measurement of spin-torque effects on ferromagnetic resonance in MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions

Thermal-magnetic noise at ferromagnetic resonance (T-FMR) can be used to measure magnetic perpendicular anisotropy of nanoscale magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). For this purpose, T-FMR measurements were conducted with an external magnetic field up to 14 kOe applied perpendicular to the film surface of MgO-based MTJs under a dc bias. The observed frequency-field relationship suggests that a 20 A CoFeB free layer has an effective demagnetization field much smaller than the intrinsic bulk value of CoFeB, with 4PiMeff = (6.1 +/- 0.3) kOe. This value is consistent with the saturation field obtained from magnetometry measurements on extended films of the same CoFeB thickness. In-plane T-FMR on the other hand shows less consistent results for the effective demagnetization field, presumably due to excitations of more complex modes. These experiments suggest that the perpendicular T-FMR is preferred for quantitative magnetic characterization of nanoscale MTJs.

0908.2164v1

2011-04-04

Tunneling magneto thermo power in magnetic tunnel junction nanopillars

We study the tunneling magneto thermo power (TMTP) in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junction nanopillars. Thermal gradients across the junctions are generated by a micropatterned electric heater line. Thermo power voltages up to a few tens of \muV between the top and bottom contact of the nanopillars are measured which scale linearly with the applied heating power and hence with the applied temperature gradient. The thermo power signal varies by up to 10 \muV upon reversal of the relative magnetic configuration of the two CoFeB layers from parallel to antiparallel. This signal change corresponds to a large spin-dependent Seebeck coefficient of the order of 100 \muV/K and a large TMTP change of the tunnel junction of up to 90%.

1104.0537v2

2012-08-28

Magnetic field sensor with voltage-tunable sensing properties

We report on a magnetic field sensor based on CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions. By taking advantage of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of the CoFeB/MgO interface, the magnetization of the sensing layer is tilted out-of-plane which results in a linear response to in-plane magnetic fields. The application of a bias voltage across the MgO tunnel barrier of the field sensor affects the magnetic anisotropy and thereby its sensing properties. An increase of the maximum sensitivity and simultaneous decrease of the magnetic field operating range by a factor of two is measured. Based on these results, we propose a voltage-tunable sensor design that allows for active control of the sensitivity and the operating filed range with the strength and polarity of the applied bias voltage.

1208.5588v1

2013-11-15

Electric-field-induced strain-mediated magnetoelectric effect in CoFeB-MgO magnetic tunnel junctions

Magnetoelectric coupling between magnetic and electric dipoles is one of the cornerstones of modern physics towards developing the most energy-efficient magnetic data storage. Conventionally, magnetoelectric coupling is achieved in single-phase multiferroics or in magnetoelectric composite nanostructures consisting of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric/piezoelectric materials. Here, we demonstrate an electric-field-induced strain-mediated magnetoelectric effect in ultrathin CoFeB/MgO magnetic tunnel junction employing non-piezoelectric material, which is a vitally important structure for spintronic devices, by using dynamical magnetoelectric and piezoresponse force microscopy measurement techniques. We show that the applied electric-field induces strain in a few atomic layers of dielectric MgO which is transferred to magnetostrictive CoFeB layer, resulting in a magnetoelectric effect of magnitude up to 80.8 V cm-1 Oe-1 under -0.5 V. The demonstrated strain-mediated magnetoelectric effect with an electric field in magnetic tunnel junctions is a significant step towards exploring magnetoelectrically controlled spintronic devices for low-power and high density magnetic data storage applications.

1311.3794v1

2014-04-17

Large and robust electrical spin injection into GaAs at zero magnetic field using an ultrathin CoFeB/MgO injector

We demonstrate a large electrical spin injection into GaAs at zero magnetic field thanks to an ultrathin perpendicularly magnetized CoFeB contact of a few atomic planes (1.2 nm). The spin-polarization of electrons injected into GaAs was examined by the circular polarization of electroluminescence from a Spin Light Emitting Diode with embedded InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells. The electroluminescence polarization as a function of the magnetic field closely traces the out-of-plane magnetization of the CoFeB/MgO injector. A circular polarization degree of the emitted light as large as 20% at 25 K is achieved at zero magnetic field. Moreover the electroluminescence circular polarization is still about 8% at room temperature.

1404.4527v1

2014-07-24

Unambiguous separation of the inverse spin Hall and anomalous Nernst Effects within a ferromagnetic metal using the spin Seebeck effect

The longitudinal spin Seebeck effect is measured on the ferromagnetic insulator Fe$_3$O$_4$ with the ferromagnetic metal Co$_{0.2}$Fe$_{0.6}$B$_{0.2}$ (CoFeB) as the spin detector. By using a non-magnetic spacer material between the two materials (Ti), it is possible to decouple the two ferromagnetic materials and directly observe pure spin flow from Fe$_3$O$_4$ into CoFeB. It is shown, that in a single ferromagnetic metal the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) and anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) can occur simultaneously with opposite polarity. Using this and the large difference in the coercive fields between the two magnets, it is possible to unambiguously separate the contributions of the spin Seebeck effect from the ANE and observe the degree to which each effect contributes to the total response. These experiments show conclusively that the ISHE and ANE in CoFeB are separate phenomena with different origins and can coexist in the same material with opposite response to a thermal gradient.

1407.6758v1

2015-05-30

Effect of annealing temperature on exchange stiffness of CoFeB thin films

We investigate the exchange stiffness constants of 28-nm-thick CoFeB film using Brillouin light scattering. Series of CoFeB films are prepared on the MgO(001) substrate with or without additional 5-nm thick MgO buffer layer, the effect of the annealing temperature on the exchange stiffness constants are studied. We found that the exchange stiffness constant of 400oC annealed sample with MgO buffer increased by 10 % form the 200oC annealed sample (=0.73 +/- 0.01 x 10-11 J/m), while the exchange stiffness constant of without MgO buffer layer sample increase by 6 % from the as-grown sample (=1.11 +/- 0.02 x 10-11 J/m).

1506.00129v1

2016-02-08

Nanomagnetic logic with non-uniform states of clocking

Nanomagnetic logic transmits information along a path of nanomagnets. The basic mechanism to drive such a transmission, known as clocking, can be achieved by exploiting the spin-Hall effect, as recently observed in experiments on Ta/CoFeB/MgO multilayers [D. Bhowmik, et al., Nat. Nano. 9, 59 (2013)]. This paper shows the fundamental mechanism of the spin-Hall driven clocking by using a full micromagnetic framework and considering two different devices, Ta/CoFeB/MgO and Pt/CoFeB/MgO. The former is used for a direct comparison of the numerical results with the experiments while the latter permits to predict the effect of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in the clocking mechanism. Results show that the clocking state is non-uniform and it is characterized by the presence of domains separated by Bloch (N\'eel) domain walls depending on the absence (presence) of the DMI. Our findings point out that for the design of nanomagnetic logic a full micromagnetic approach is necessary.

1602.02528v1

2016-04-18

Temperature dependence of spin-orbit torques in W/CoFeB bilayers

We report on the temperature and layer thickness variation of spin-orbit torques in perpendicularly magnetized W/CoFeB bilayers. Harmonic Hall voltage measurements reveal dissimilar temperature evolutions of longitudinal and transverse effective magnetic field components. The transverse effective field changes sign at 250 K for a 2 nm thick W buffer layer, indicating a much stronger contribution from interface spin-orbit interactions compared to, for example, Ta. Transmission electron microscopy measurements reveal that considerable interface mixing between W and CoFeB is primarily responsible for this effect.

1604.05204v1

2016-04-19

Probing the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in CoFeB ultrathin films using domain wall creep and Brillouin light spectroscopy

We have characterized the strength of the interfacial Dyzaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in ultrathin perpendicularly magnetized CoFeB/MgO films, grown on different underlayers of W, TaN, and Hf, using two experimental methods. First, we determined the effective DMI field from measurements of field-driven domain wall motion in the creep regime, where applied in-plane magnetic fields induce an anisotropy in the wall propagation that is correlated with the DMI strength. Second, Brillouin light spectroscopy was employed to quantify the frequency non-reciprocity of spin waves in the CoFeB layers, which yielded an independent measurement of the DMI. By combining these results, we show that DMI estimates from the different techniques only yield qualitative agreement, which suggests that open questions remain on the underlying models used to interpret these results.

1604.05475v1

2018-01-17

Interference induced enhancement of magneto-optical Kerr effect in ultrathin magnetic films

We have studied the magneto-optical spectra of ultrathin magnetic films deposited on Si substrates coated with an oxide layer (SiOx). We find that the Kerr rotation angle and the ellipticity of ~1 nm thick CoFeB thin films, almost transparent to visible light, show a strong dependence on the thickness of the SiOx layer. The Kerr signal from the 1 nm CoFeB thin film can be larger than that of ~100 nm thick CoFeB films for a given SiOx thickness and light wavelength. The enhancement of the Kerr signal occurs when optical interference takes place within the SiOx layer. Interestingly, under such resonance condition, the measured Kerr signal is in some cases larger than the estimation despite the good agreement of the measured and calculated reflection amplitude. We infer the discrepancy originates from interface states that are distinct from the bulk characteristics. These results show that optical interference effect can be utilized to study the magneto-optical properties of ultrathin films.

1801.05539v1

2018-03-19

Enhanced spin-orbit torque via interface engineering in Pt/CoFeB/MgO heterostructures

Spin-orbit torque facilitates efficient magnetization switching via an in-plane current in perpendicularly magnetized heavy metal/ferromagnet heterostructures. The efficiency of spin-orbit-torque-induced switching is determined by the charge-to-spin conversion arising from either bulk or interfacial spin-orbit interactions, or both. Here, we demonstrate that the spin-orbit torque and the resultant switching efficiency in Pt/CoFeB systems are significantly enhanced by an interfacial modification involving Ti insertion between the Pt and CoFeB layers. Spin pumping and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism experiments reveal that this enhancement is due to an additional interface-generated spin current of the nonmagnetic interface and/or improved spin transparency achieved by suppressing the proximity-induced moment in the Pt layer. Our results demonstrate that interface engineering affords an effective approach to improve spin-orbit torque and thereby magnetization switching efficiency.

1803.06961v1

2019-11-28

Spin-torque memristors based on perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with a hybrid chiral texture

Spin-torque memristors were proposed in 2009, which could provide fast, low-power and infinite memristive behavior for large-density non-volatile memory and neuromorphic computing. However, the strict requirements of combining high magnetoresistance, stable intermediate states and spin-polarized current switching in a single device pose difficulties in physical implementation. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a nanoscale spin-torque memristor based on a perpendicular-anisotropy magnetic tunnel junction with a CoFeB/W/CoFeB composite free layer structure. Its tunneling magnetoresistance is higher than 200%, and memristive behavior can be realized by spin-transfer torque switching. Memristive states are maintained by robust domain wall pinning around clusters of W atoms, where nanoscale vertical chiral spin textures could be formed through the competition between opposing Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions and the fluctuating interlayer coupling caused by the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction between the two CoFeB free layers. Spike-timing-dependent plasticity is also demonstrated in this device.

1911.12784v1

2017-05-29

Contributions of Co and Fe orbitals to Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy of MgO/CoFeB Bilayers with Spin-Orbit-Torque-Related (Ta, W, IrMn, and Ti) Underlayers

We study the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of the CoFeB/MgO bilayers in contact with W, Ta, IrMn and Ti which has been suggested as the spin-orbit-torque-related underlayers. The saturation magnetization of the CoFeB depends on the underlayer materials due to formation of a dead-layer, affecting PMA strength of each film. The x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurement reveals that the interfacial intermixing suppresses only the perpendicular orbital moment of Fe, while the intermixing simultaneously suppresses both the perpendicular and in-plane orbital moments of Co.

1705.10064v1

2019-10-30

Ultra-low switching current density in all-amorphous W-Hf / CoFeB / TaOx films

We study current-induced deterministic magnetization switching and domain wall motion via polar Kerr microscopy in all-amorphous W$_{66}$Hf$_{34}$/CoFeB/TaO$_\text{x}$ with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and large spin Hall angle. Investigations of magnetization switching as a function of in-plane assist field and current pulse-width yield switching current densities as low as $3\times 10^{9}$ A/m$^2$. We accredit this low switching current density to a low depinning current density, which was obtained from measurements of domain wall displacements upon current injection. This correlation is verified by investigations of a Ta/CoFeB/MgO/Ta reference sample, which showed critical current densities of at least one order of magnitude larger, respectively.

1910.13837v3

2018-12-05

Voltage-induced strain clocking of nanomagnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropies

Nanomagnetic logic (NML) has attracted attention during the last two decades due to its promise of high energy efficiency combined with non-volatility. Data transmission in NML relies on Bennett clocking through dipole interaction between neighboring nanomagnetic bits. This paper uses a fully coupled finite element model to simulate Bennett clocking based on strain-mediated multiferroic system for Ni, CoFeB and Terfenol-D with perpendicular magnetic anisotropies. Simulation results demonstrate that Terfenol-D system has the highest energy efficiency, which is 2 orders of magnitude more efficient than Ni and CoFeB. However, the high efficiency is associated with switching incoherency due to its large magnetostriction coefficient. It is also suggested that the CoFeB clocking system is slower and has lower bit-density than in Ni or Terfenol-D systems due to its large dipole coupling. Moreover, we demonstrate that the precessional perpendicular switching and the Bennett clocking can be achieved using the same strain-mediated multiferroic architecture with different voltage pulsing. This study opens new possibilities to an all-spin in-memory computing system.

1812.02268v1

2018-12-18

Enhancement of Spintronic Terahertz Emission via Annealing in Ferromagnetic Heterostructures

We systematically investigate the influence of annealing effect on terahertz (THz) generation from CoFeB based magnetic nanofilms driven by femtosecond laser pulses. Three times enhancement of THz yields are achieved in W/CoFeB through annealing effect, and double boosting is obtained in Pt/CoFeB. The mechanism of annealing effect originates from the increase of hot electron mean free path induced by crystallization, which is experimentally corroborated by THz transmission measurement on time-domain spectroscopy. Comparison studies of the thickness dependent THz efficiency after annealing are also implemented, and we eventually conclude that annealing and thickness optimization are of importance for scaling up THz intensity. Our observations not only deepen understanding of the spintronic THz radiation mechanism but also provide normal platform for high speed spintronic opto-electronic devices.

1812.07113v2