Magnetic tunnel junction with enhanced magnetic switching characteristics
US7535069B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 14, 2006 |
| Grant date | May 19, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 14, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C11/16
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A semiconductor device formed between a wordline and a bitline comprises a growth layer, an antiferromagnetic layer formed on the growth layer, a pinned layer formed on the antiferromagnetic layer, a tunnel barrier layer formed on the pinned layer, and a free layer formed on the tunnel barrier. The wordline and bitline are arranged substantially orthogonal to one another. The growth layer, in turn, comprises tantalum and has a thickness greater than about 75 Angstroms. Moreover, the pinned layer comprises one or more pinned ferromagnetic sublayers. The tunnel barrier comprises magnesium oxide. Finally, the free layer comprises two or more free ferromagnetic sublayers, each free ferromagnetic sublayer having a magnetic anisotropy axis that is oriented about 45 degrees from the wordline and bitline. The semiconductor device may comprise, for example, a magnetic tunnel junction for use in magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) circuitry.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.