Fast, reliable spin-orbit-torque switching in three terminal magnetic tunnel junctions with Hf dusting layer

Shengjie Shi; Yongxi Ou; D. C. Ralph; R. A. Buhrman

doi:10.1117/12.2323397

20 September 2018 Fast, reliable spin-orbit-torque switching in three terminal magnetic tunnel junctions with Hf dusting layer

Shengjie Shi, Yongxi Ou, D. C. Ralph, R. A. Buhrman

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10732, Spintronics XI; 107321U (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2323397
Event: SPIE Nanoscience + Engineering, 2018, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Since the discovery of the large spin Hall effect in certain heavy metals, there has been continuous interest in utilizing this spin-orbit torque (SOT) effect in constructing a non-volatile memory that can be switched by an electric current. The key to future application of this type of memory is achieving both a short write time and a low write current, which will lower the energy cost compared to existing and other emerging memory technologies. We demonstrate an efficient way of reducing the switching current in tungsten-based three terminal magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with in-plane magnetization (IPM) using a sub-atomic layer of Hf dusting inserted between the free FeCoB layer and the MgO tunnel barrier. We show with a simple FeCoB-MgO-FeCoB MTJ structure that in addition to low write current, fast pulse switching can be achieved with pulses ≤ 1 ns. We also confirm that in an SAF balanced MTJ structure with a PtHf spin Hall channel that the nanosecond switching behavior is typical of the switching of IPM three terminal spin-orbit-torque devices. We report write error rate of these structures down to ~10^-6at for 1 ns pulses, demonstrating feasibility for high performance cache memory.

Citation Download Citation

Shengjie Shi, Yongxi Ou, D. C. Ralph, and R. A. Buhrman "Fast, reliable spin-orbit-torque switching in three terminal magnetic tunnel junctions with Hf dusting layer", Proc. SPIE 10732, Spintronics XI, 107321U (20 September 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2323397

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