Voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy in Fe|MgO tunnel junctions studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy
- Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531 (Japan)
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute/SPring-8, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198 (Japan)
In this study, voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) in Fe|MgO tunnel junctions was investigated via the magneto-optical Kerr effect, soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy. The Fe|MgO tunnel junctions showed enhanced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy under external negative voltage, which induced charge depletion at the Fe|MgO interface. Despite the application of voltages of opposite polarity, no trace of chemical reaction such as a redox reaction attributed to O{sup 2−} migration was detected in the x-ray absorption spectra of the Fe. The VCMA reported in the Fe|MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions must therefore originate from phenomena associated with the purely electric effect, that is, surface electron doping and/or redistribution induced by an external electric field.
- OSTI ID:
- 22485935
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 16; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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