Origin of the Magnetoresistance in Oxide Tunnel Junctions Determined through Electric Polarization Control of the Interface
Abstract
The observed magnetoresistance (MR) in three-terminal (3T) ferromagnet-nonmagnet (FM-NM) tunnel junctions has historically been assigned to ensemble dephasing (Hanle effect) of a spin accumulation, thus offering a powerful approach for characterizing the spin lifetime of candidate materials for spintronics applications. However, due to crucial discrepancies of the extracted spin parameters with known materials properties, this interpretation has come under intense scrutiny. By employing epitaxial artificial dipoles as the tunnel barrier in oxide heterostructures, the band alignments between the FM and NM channels can be controllably engineered, providing an experimental platform for testing the predictions of the various spin accumulation models. Using this approach, we have been able to definitively rule out spin accumulation as the origin of the 3T MR. Instead, we assign the origin of the magnetoresistance to spin-dependent hopping through defect states in the barrier, a fundamental phenomenon seen across diverse systems. In conclusion, a theoretical framework is developed that can account for the signal amplitude, linewidth, and anisotropy.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1225766
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1228048
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review. X
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Physical Review. X Journal Volume: 5 Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 2160-3308
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 42 ENGINEERING; 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; materials science; semiconductor physics; spintronics
Citation Formats
Inoue, Hisashi, Swartz, Adrian G., Harmon, Nicholas J., Tachikawa, Takashi, Hikita, Yasuyuki, Flatté, Michael E., and Hwang, Harold Y. Origin of the Magnetoresistance in Oxide Tunnel Junctions Determined through Electric Polarization Control of the Interface. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.5.041023.
Inoue, Hisashi, Swartz, Adrian G., Harmon, Nicholas J., Tachikawa, Takashi, Hikita, Yasuyuki, Flatté, Michael E., & Hwang, Harold Y. Origin of the Magnetoresistance in Oxide Tunnel Junctions Determined through Electric Polarization Control of the Interface. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.5.041023
Inoue, Hisashi, Swartz, Adrian G., Harmon, Nicholas J., Tachikawa, Takashi, Hikita, Yasuyuki, Flatté, Michael E., and Hwang, Harold Y. Wed .
"Origin of the Magnetoresistance in Oxide Tunnel Junctions Determined through Electric Polarization Control of the Interface". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.5.041023.
@article{osti_1225766,
title = {Origin of the Magnetoresistance in Oxide Tunnel Junctions Determined through Electric Polarization Control of the Interface},
author = {Inoue, Hisashi and Swartz, Adrian G. and Harmon, Nicholas J. and Tachikawa, Takashi and Hikita, Yasuyuki and Flatté, Michael E. and Hwang, Harold Y.},
abstractNote = {The observed magnetoresistance (MR) in three-terminal (3T) ferromagnet-nonmagnet (FM-NM) tunnel junctions has historically been assigned to ensemble dephasing (Hanle effect) of a spin accumulation, thus offering a powerful approach for characterizing the spin lifetime of candidate materials for spintronics applications. However, due to crucial discrepancies of the extracted spin parameters with known materials properties, this interpretation has come under intense scrutiny. By employing epitaxial artificial dipoles as the tunnel barrier in oxide heterostructures, the band alignments between the FM and NM channels can be controllably engineered, providing an experimental platform for testing the predictions of the various spin accumulation models. Using this approach, we have been able to definitively rule out spin accumulation as the origin of the 3T MR. Instead, we assign the origin of the magnetoresistance to spin-dependent hopping through defect states in the barrier, a fundamental phenomenon seen across diverse systems. In conclusion, a theoretical framework is developed that can account for the signal amplitude, linewidth, and anisotropy.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevX.5.041023},
journal = {Physical Review. X},
number = 4,
volume = 5,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Nov 11 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Wed Nov 11 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.5.041023
Web of Science
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