Spin-dependent tunneling in discontinuous Co-SiO2 magnetic tunnel junctions

被引:34
作者
Sankar, S [1 ]
Berkowitz, AE
Smith, DJ
机构
[1] Univ Calif San Diego, Ctr Magnet Recording Res, Dept Phys, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA
[2] Arizona State Univ, Ctr Solid State Sci, Dept Phys & Astron, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1063/1.121924
中图分类号
O59 [应用物理学];
学科分类号
摘要
Discontinuous magnetic tunnel junctions (DMTJs) are an alternate system to the magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) currently being considered for ma magnetoresistance (MR) sensors. The DMTJs are easier to fabricate and more robust than the MTJs. The nominal film structure is SiO2(20 Angstrom)/Co(t(Co))/SiO2(30 Angstrom)/Co(tCo)/SiO2(20 Angstrom), in which the thin Co layers are discontinuous, in the form of nanoparticles. Magneto-transport measurements were made perpendicular to the film plane on macroscopic junctions for in-plane applied magnetic fields. The results, for these films with only two magnetic layers, are similar to those of the discontinuous multilayers previously reported. The MR response is relatively sharp and almost linear at low magnetic fields and is reproducible from one junction to another. This MR (defined as Delta V/V-max) is weakly temperature dependent with a maximum between 4 and 300 K. The MR and the magnetization at low temperature suggest ferromagnetically coupled particles, which switch in lower magnetic fields than noninteracting particles. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.
引用
收藏
页码:535 / 537
页数:3
相关论文
共 9 条