Title
Integration of Tb/Co multilayers within optically switchable perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions
Date Issued
01 December 2019
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Álvaro-Gómez L.
Li G.
Davies C.S.
Olivier A.
Rubio-Roy M.
Auffret S.
Kirilyuk A.
Kimel A.V.
Rasing T.
Buda-Prejbeanu L.D.
Sousa R.C.
Dieny B.
Prejbeanu I.L.
Université Grenoble Alpes
Publisher(s)
American Institute of Physics Inc.
Abstract
This work reports the development of perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions, based on a multilayered stack of [Tb/Co] nanolayers, in which the magnetization can be reliably toggled using a single optical pulse. The helicity-independent single-shot switching of the magnetization in the Tb/Co multilayered stack was achieved using either 60 fs-long or 5 ps laser pulses with incident fluences down to 4.7 mJ/cm2. The magnetic switching was achieved for a Co-rich composition window of the multilayer corresponding to layer thickness ratios tCo/tTb between 1.3-1.5. This was confirmed for the multilayer alone as well as for the multilayer coupled to aCoFeB electrode, with a structure consisting of CoFeB/Ta/[Tb/Co]N. The optical switching is preserved even after annealing at 250°C in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) electrodes, exhibiting a tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of 41% and RxA value of 150 ωμm after its integration, measured on unpatterned MTJ stacks. These results represent the first step towards the development of hybrid spintronic photonic systems with fJ switching energies.
Volume
9
Issue
12
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Física de partículas, Campos de la Física Física atómica, molecular y química
Publication version
Version of Record
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85077344925
Source
AIP Advances
ISSN of the container
2158-3226
Sponsor(s)
This research has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under FET-Open Grant Agreement No. 713481 (SPICE). The authors would like to thank I. Joumard and S. Semin for their very valuable technical support.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus