Search

The concept of perpendicular shape anisotropy spin-transfer torque magnetic random-access memory (PSA-STT-MRAM) consists in increasing the storage layer thickness to values comparable to the cell diameter, to induce a perpendicular shape anisotropy in the magnetic storage layer. Making use of that contribution, the downsize scalability of the STT-MRAM may be extended towards sub-20 nm technological nodes, thanks to a reinforcement of the thermal stability factor $\Delta$. Although the larger storage layer thickness improves $\Delta$, it is expected to negatively impact the writing current and switching time. Hence, optimization of the cell dimensions (diameter, thickness) is of utmost importance for attaining a sufficiently high $\Delta$ while keeping a moderate writing current. Micromagnetic simulations were carried out for different pillar thicknesses of fixed lateral size 20 nm. The switching time and the reversal mechanism were analysed as a function of the applied voltage and aspect-ratio (AR) of the storage layer. For AR $<$ 1, the magnetization reversal resembles a macrospin-like mechanism, while for AR $>$ 1 a non-coherent reversal is observed, characterized by the nucleation of a transverse domain wall at the ferromagnet/insulator interface which then propagates along the vertical axis of the pillar. It was further observed that the inverse of the switching time is linearly dependent on the applied voltage. This study was extended to sub-20 nm width with a value of $\Delta$ around 80. It was observed that the voltage necessary to reverse the magnetic layer increases as the lateral size is reduced, accompanied with a transition from macrospin-reversal to a buckling-like reversal at high aspect-ratios., Comment: 7 pages with a total of 8 figures

The impact of 400 keV $Ar^+$ ion irradiation on the magnetic and electrical properties of in-plane magnetized magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) stacks was investigated by ferromagnetic resonance, vibrating sample magnetometry and current-in-plane tunneling techniques. The irradiation-induced changes of the magnetic anisotropy, coupling energies and tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) exhibited a correlated dependence on the ion fluence, which allowed us to distinguish between two irradiation regimes. In the low-fluence regime, ${\Phi} < 10^{14} cm^{-2}$, the parameters required for having a functioning MTJ were preserved: the anisotropy of the FeCoB free layer (FL) was weakly modulated following a small decrease in the saturation magnetization $M_S$; the TMR decreased continuously; the interlayer exchange coupling (IEC) and the exchange bias (EB) decreased slightly. In the high-fluence regime, ${\Phi} > 10^{14} cm^{-2}$, the MTJ was rendered inoperative: the modulation of the FL anisotropy was strong, caused by a strong decrease in $M_S$, ascribed to a high degree of interface intermixing between the FL and the Ta capping; the EB and IEC were also lost, likely due to intermixing of the layers composing the synthetic antiferromagnet; and the TMR vanished due to the irradiation-induced deterioration of the MgO barrier and MgO/FeCoB interfaces. We demonstrate that the layers surrounding the FL play a decisive role in determining the trend of the magnetic anisotropy evolution resulting from the irradiation, and that an ion-fluence window exists where such a modulation of magnetic anisotropy can occur, while not losing the TMR or the magnetic configuration of the MTJ., Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, Supplemental material with 8 pages, 9 figures

This work is a contribution to the understanding of the electrical resistivity in strontium ferromolybdate (SFMO) ceramics. It demonstrates that an appropriate thermal treatment leads to the formation of dielectric SrMoO4 shells at the surface of SFMO nanograins. In samples without SrMoO4 shells, the sign of the temperature coefficient of resistance changes with increasing temperature from negative at very low temperature to positive at higher temperatures. Samples exhibiting a negative temperature coefficient contain SrMoO4 shells and demonstrate a behavior of the resistivity that can be described in terms of the fluctuation-induced tunneling model, and near room temperature the conductivity mechanism converts to a variable-range hopping one. The results of this work serve as a starting point for the understanding of the low-field magnetoresistance which is very promising for spintronic device application., Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures

The influence of He+ ion irradiation on the transport and magnetic properties of epitaxial layers of a diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) (In,Fe)Sb, a two-phase (In,Fe)Sb composite and a nominally undoped InSb semiconductor has been investigated. In all layers, a conductivity type conversion from the initial n-type to the ptype has been found. The ion fluence at which the conversion occurs depends on the Fe concentration in the InSb matrix. Magnetotransport properties of the two-phase (In,Fe)Sb layer are strongly affected by ferromagnetic Fe inclusions. An influence of the number of electrically active radiation defects on the magnetic properties of the single-phase In0.75Fe0.25Sb DMS has been found. At the same time, the results show that the magnetic properties of the In0.75Fe0.25Sb DMS are quite resistant to significant changes of the charge carrier concentration and the Fermi level position. The results confirm a weak interrelation between the ferromagnetism and the charge carrier concentration in (In,Fe)Sb.

Multilayer structures on the basis of n-type (In,Fe)Sb and p-type (Ga,Fe)Sb diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) along with separate (In,Fe)Sb and (Ga,Fe)Sb layers were fabricated on GaAs substrates by pulsed laser sputtering of InSb, GaAs, GaSb, Sb and Fe targets in a vacuum. Transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy reveal a strong dependence of the phase composition of the (In,Fe)Sb compound on the growth temperature. An increase of the latter from 220C to 300C leads to a coalescence of Fe atoms and formation of a secondary crystalline phase in the (In,Fe)Sb layer with a total Fe content of ca. 10 at. %. At the same time, the Ga0.8Fe0.2Sb layers obtained at 220C and 300C are single-phase. The separate In0.8Fe0.2Sb and Ga0.8Fe0.2Sb layers grown on i-GaAs at 220C are DMS with Curie temperatures of ca. 190 K and 170 K, respectively. The three-layer p-i-n diode (In,Fe)Sb/GaAs/(Ga,Fe)Sb structure grown on a GaAs substrate at 220C with a Fe content of ca. 10 at. % in the single-phase (In,Fe)Sb and (Ga,Fe)Sb layers has a rather high crystalline quality and can be considered as a prototype of a bipolar spintronic device based on Fe-doped III-V semiconductors.

The (In,Fe)Sb layers with the Fe content up to 13 at. % have been grown on (001) GaAs substrates using the pulsed laser deposition. The TEM investigations show that the (In,Fe)Sb layers are epitaxial and free of the inclusions of a second phase. The observation of the hysteretic magnetoresistance curves at temperatures up to 300 K reveals that the Curie point is above room temperature. The resonant character of magnetic circular dichroism confirms the intrinsic ferromagnetism in the (In,Fe)Sb layers. We suggest that the ferromagnetism of the (In,Fe)Sb matrix is not carrier-mediated and apparently is determined by the mechanism of superexchange interaction between Fe atoms (This work was presented at the XXI Symposium Nanophysics and Nanoelectronics, Nizhny Novgorod, March, 13-16, 2017 (book of proceedings v.1, p. 195), http://nanosymp.ru/UserFiles/Symp/2017_v1.pdf).

Two ferromagnetic layers magnetically decoupled by a thick normal metal spacer layer can be, nevertheless, dynamically coupled via spin currents emitted by the spin-pump and absorbed through the spin-torque effects at the neighboring interfaces. A decrease of damping in both layers due to a partial compensation of the angular momentum leakage in each layer was previously observed at the coincidence of the two ferromagnetic resonances. In case of non-zero magnetic coupling, such a dynamic exchange will depend on the mutual precession of the magnetic moments in the layers. A difference in the linewidth of the resonance peaks is expected for the acoustic and optical regimes of precession. However, the interlayer coupling hybridizes the resonance responses of the layers and therefore can also change their linewidths. The interplay between the two mechanisms has never been considered before. In the present work, the joint influence of the hybridization and non-local damping on the linewidth has been studied in weakly coupled NiFe/CoFe/Cu/CoFe/MnIr spin-valve multilayers. It has been found that the dynamic exchange by spin currents is different in the optical and acoustic modes, and this difference is dependent on the interlayer coupling strength. In contrast to the acoustic precession mode, the dynamic exchange in the optical mode works as an additional damping source. A simulation in the framework of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert formalism for two ferromagnetic layers coupled magnetically and by spin currents has been done to separate the effects of the non-local damping from the resonance modes hybridization. In our samples both mechanisms bring about linewidth changes of the same order of magnitude, but lead to a distinctly different angular behavior. The obtained results are relevant for a broad class of coupled magnetic multilayers with ballistic regime of the spin transport.

Electron states in a inhomogeneous Ge/Si quantum dot array with groups of closely spaced quantum dots were studied by conventional continuous wave ($cw$) ESR and spin-echo methods. We find that the existence of quantum dot groups allows to increase the spin relaxation time in the system. Created structures allow us to change an effective localization radius of electrons by external magnetic field. With the localization radius close to the size of a quantum dot group, we obtain fourfold increasing spin relaxation time $T_1$, as compared to conventional homogeneous quantum dot arrays. This effect is attributed to averaging of local magnetic fields related to nuclear spins $^{29}$Si and stabilization of $S_z$-polarization during electron back-and-forth motion within a quantum dot group., Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures

The Hall effect in InMnAs layers with MnAs inclusions of 20-50 nm in size is studied both theoretically and experimentally. We find that the anomalous Hall effect can be explained by the Lorentz force caused by the magnetic field of ferromagnetic inclusions and by an inhomogeneous distribution of the current density in the layer. The hysteretic dependence of the average magnetization of ferromagnetic inclusions on an external magnetic field results in a hysteretic dependence of RH(Hext). Thus we show the possibility of a hysteretic RH(Hext) dependence (i.e. observation of the anomalous Hall effect) in thin conductive layers with ferromagnetic inclusions in the absence of carriers spin polarization.

Electromechanical and magnetoelectric properties of Metglas/LiNbO3/Metglas trilayers have been studied in the frequency range from 20 Hz to 0.4 MHz. A trilayer of Metglas/PMN-PT/Metglas prepared in the same way was used as a reference. Though PMN-PT has much larger charge piezocoefficients than LiNbO3 (LNO), the direct magnetoelectric voltage coefficient is found to be comparable in both trilayers due to the much lower dielectric permittivity of LNO. The magnitude of the direct magnetoelectric effect in the LNO trilayers is about 0.4 V/cm*Oe in the quasistatic regime and about 90 V/cm*Oe at electromechanical resonance. Calculations show that the magnetoelectric properties can be significantly improved (up to 500 V/cm*Oe) via controlling the cut angle of LNO, choosing the appropriate thickness ratio of the ferroelectric/ferromagnetic layers, and a better bonding between Metglas and LNO. Advantages of using LiNbO3-type ferroelectrics in magnetoelectric composites are discussed., Comment: Submitted to JAP

Nanostructured Pd-Fe thin films with varied Fe content were prepared by electrodeposition technique from organic electrolytes on Cu and brass substrates. The structure and the magnetic properties of the films were investigated prior to post-deposition annealing. The structure of the Pd1-xFex thin films with x = 0.14, 0.24, and 0.52 was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as a solid solution of iron in palladium face-centered cubic lattice with the (111) orientation of nanograins relatively to the substrate surface. The films with higher iron concentration, x = 0.74, 0.91, have structure of a solid solution based on the body-centered cubic lattice. The average grain size determined by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for the first two alloys is 7-10 nm, and for the latter ones it is about 120 nm. The saturation magnetization of the films has linear dependence on the iron content, but coercivity has non-monotonic dependence on x, i.e. the films with x = 0.68 show highest coercivity. The magnetic anisotropy of the samples is studied by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectroscopy., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, Conference "Nanosmat-2010"

Mechanisms of nonradiative recombination of electron-hole complexes in Cd(Mn)Se/Zn(Mn)Se quantum dots accompanied by interconfigurational excitations of Mn$^{2+}$ ions are analyzed within the framework of single electron model of deep {\it 3d}-levels in semiconductors. In addition to the mechanisms caused by Coulomb and exchange interactions, which are related because of the Pauli principle, another mechanism due to {\it sp-d} mixing is considered. It is shown that the Coulomb mechanism reduces to long-range dipole-dipole energy transfer from photoexcited quantum dots to Mn$^{2+}$ ions. The recombination due to the Coulomb mechanism is allowed for any states of Mn$^{2+}$ ions and {\it e-h} complexes. In contrast, short-range exchange and ${\it sp-d}$ recombinations are subject to spin selection rules, which are the result of strong {\it lh-hh} splitting of hole states in quantum dots. Estimates show that efficiency of the {\it sp-d} mechanism can considerably exceed that of the Coulomb mechanism. The phonon-assisted recombination and processes involving upper excited states of Mn$^{2+}$ ions are studied. The increase in PL intensity of an ensemble of quantum dots in a magnetic field perpendicular to the sample growth plane observed earlier is analyzed as a possible manifestation of the spin-dependent recombination., Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures