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Title: Spin orbital torque driven magnetization switching in magnetic tunnel junction with inter-layer exchange coupling

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4905791· OSTI ID:22412817
 [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)
  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

The switching processes of elliptically shaped magnetic tunnel junction bits with the structure Ta/CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB have been studied by the micromagnetic models. By comparing the tunneling magneto-resistance minor and major loops calculated by our model with related experimental results, we found that the inter-layer exchange coupling between the two CoFeB layers and a reduced saturation magnetization M{sub s} distribution at the edge of the elliptical bit should be included. The chosen strength of the inter-layer exchange coupling also matches well with experimental observations. The current induced magnetization switching is generated from the spin Hall effect in the Ta layer. The critical switching currents calculated by our model are coincident with experiment. This shows the reliability of our micromagnetic model with the spin orbital torque term.

OSTI ID:
22412817
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 117, Issue 2; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English