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Title: Influence of magnetic electrodes thicknesses on the transport properties of magnetic tunnel junctions with perpendicular anisotropy

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4892450· OSTI ID:22314495
; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. SPINTEC, UMR 8191, CEA-INAC/CNRS/UJF-Grenoble 1/Grenoble-INP, 38054 Grenoble Cedex (France)

The influence of the bottom and top magnetic electrodes thicknesses on both perpendicular anisotropy and transport properties is studied in (Co/Pt)/Ta/CoFeB/MgO/FeCoB/Ta magnetic tunnel junctions. By carefully investigating the relative magnetic moment of the two electrodes as a function of their thicknesses, we identify and quantify the presence of magnetically dead layers, likely localized at the interfaces with Ta, that is, 0.33 nm for the bottom electrode and 0.60 nm for the top one. Critical thicknesses (spin-reorientation transitions) are determined as 1.60 and 1.65 nm for bottom and top electrodes, respectively. The tunnel magnetoresistance ratio reaches its maximum value, as soon as both effective (corrected from dead layer) electrode thicknesses exceed 0.6 nm.

OSTI ID:
22314495
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 5; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English