Electrical properties of MgO insulating layers in spin-dependent tunneling junctions using Fe3O4

We investigated the growth conditions and electrical properties of MgO epitaxial thin films, which have potential applications as insulating layers for spin-dependent tunneling devices where Fe3O4 serves as one of the magnetic electrodes. Our investigation showed that epitaxial MgO films with high crystalline quality can be successfully grown at temperatures as low as 473 K in oxygen pressures less than 1x10(-5) Torr. This is a very important result because it indicates that the oxidation of the underlying Fe3O4 electrode is not a factor in fabrication of spin-dependent tunneling devices. We also examined the electron tunneling properties of Au/MgO/Fe3O4 junction with an ultrathin MgO layer prepared under the conditions described above and found excellent electron tunneling properties, as will be discussed. Barrier height and thickness estimated by curve fitting current density-voltage curves using the Simmons equation yielded barrier height and thicknesses of 0.9 eV and 2.5 nm, respectively. These values were consistent with those estimated by taking into account the reduction of the barrier height due to image forces. These results indicate that the MgO insulating layers grown under the restricted conditions have satisfactory electrical qualities required for spin tunneling devices. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)04421-2].