Method and system for providing a magnetic tunneling junction using thermally assisted switching
US8698259B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 20, 2011 |
| Grant date | Apr 15, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 2, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH10N50/85
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A magnetic junction is described. The magnetic junction includes a pinned layer, a nonmagnetic spacer layer, and a free layer. The magnetic junction may also include an additional nonmagnetic spacer layer and an additional pinned layer opposing the nonmagnetic spacer layer and the pinned layer. The nonmagnetic spacer layer is between the pinned layer and the free layer. The free layer is configured to be switchable using a write current passed through the magnetic junction. The free layer is also configured to be thermally stable in a quiescent state and have a reduced thermal stability due to heating from the write current being passed through the magnetic junction. In some aspects, the free layer includes at least one of a pinning layer(s) interleaved with ferromagnetic layer(s), two sets of interleaved ferromagnetic layers having different Curie temperatures, and a ferrimagnet having a saturation magnetization that increases with temperature between ferromagnetic layers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.