Room Temperature Current Suppression on Magnetic Tunnel Junction Based Molecular Spintronics Devices

2012

J Nanopart Res

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Scope of molecule based devices may govern the advancement of the next generation's logic and memory devices. Molecules have the potential to be unmatched device elements as chemists can mass produce an endless variety of molecules with novel optical, magnetic, and charge transport characteristics. However, the biggest challenge is to connect two metal leads to a target molecule(s) and develop a robust and versatile device fabrication technology that can be adopted for commercial scale mass production. This paper discusses distinct advantages of utilizing commercially successful tunnel junctions as a vehicle for developing molecular electronics and molecular spintronics devices. We describe the use of a tunnel junction with the exposed sides as a testbed for molecular devices. On the exposed sides of a tunnel junction molecules are bridged across an insulator by chemically bonding with the two metal electrodes; sequential growth of metalinsulator-metal layers ensures that separation between two metal electrodes is controlled by the insulator thickness to the molecular device length scale. This paper critically analyzes and discusses various attributes of tunnel junction based molecular devices with ferromagnetic electrodes for making molecular spintronics devices. Here we also strongly emphasize a need for close collaboration between chemists and magnetic tunnel junction researchers. Such partnerships will have a strong potential to develop tunnel junction based molecular devices for the futuristic areas such as memory devices, magnetic metamaterials, and high sensitivity multi-chemical biosensors etc.

Section: Ability To Arbitrarily Choose Metal Electrodessupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Ability To Arbitrarily Choose Metal Electrodessupporting

confidence: 81%

Fabrication of tunnel junction-based molecular electronics and spintronics devices

2012

J Nanopart Res

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“…Details about several other cases and control experiments related to current suppression are discussed elsewhere. 65,66 The observation of OMCs induced dramatic current suppression was supported by the equally dramatic OMCs induced changes in the magnetic properties of the MTJs. In-depth details of magnetic studies are furnished elsewhere 32 and succinctly within this paper.…”

Section: Ability To Arbitrarily Choose Metal Electrodesmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…5 Interestingly, a TJMD with a Cobalt (Co)/NiFe bilayer bottom electrode and a NiFe top electrode exhibited signi¯cantly stable current suppression. 65,66 According to magnetic studies, the Co/NiFe and NiFe electrodes possessed di®erent magnetic attributes. 32 For these studies, OMCs 48,49 served as molecular channels.…”

Section: Ability To Arbitrarily Choose Metal Electrodesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is apparent that using NiFe metal in molecular devices without exposing to high temperature air played an important role in observing rather intriguing current suppression. 65 To further investigate the transition in NiFe properties with temperature, spectroscopic re°ec-tance studies were performed. These re°ectance studies signify that signi¯cant oxidation starts around 90 C; the entire re°ectance scan for less than 90 C overlapped (Fig.…”

Section: Ability To Arbitrarily Choose Metal Electrodesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Advantages of Prefabricated Tunnel Junction-Based Molecular Spintronics Devices

Friebe

Baker

2015

NANO

Self Cite

Molecule-based devices may govern the advancement of the next generation's logic and memory devices. Molecules have the potential to be unmatched device elements as chemists can mass produce an endless variety of molecules with novel optical, magnetic and charge transport characteristics. However, the biggest challenge is to connect two metal leads to a target molecule (s) and develop a robust and versatile device fabrication technology that can be adopted for commercial scale mass production. This paper discusses distinct advantages of utilizing commercially successful tunnel junctions as a vehicle for developing molecular spintronics devices. We describe the use of a prefabricated tunnel junction with the exposed sides as a testbed for molecular device fabrication. On the exposed sides of a tunnel junction molecules are bridged across an insulator by chemically bonding with the two metal electrodes; sequential growth of metal-insulator-metal layers ensures that separation between two metal electrodes is controlled by the insulator thickness to the molecular device length scale. This paper highlights various attributes of tunnel junction-based molecular devices with ferromagnetic electrodes for making molecular spintronics devices. We strongly emphasize a need for close collaboration between chemists and magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) researchers. Such partnerships will have a strong potential to develop tunnel junction-based molecular devices for futuristic areas such as memory devices, magnetic metamaterials, high sensitivity multi-chemical biosensors, etc.

Spin Photovoltaic Effect on Molecule Coupled Ferromagnetic Films of a Magnetic Tunnel Junction

2013

Volume 6B: Energy

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Economical solar energy conversion to electricity can be boosted by the discovery of fundamentally new photovoltaic mechanism, and a suitable system to realize it with commonly available materials like iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni). This paper reports the observation of photovoltaic effect on a molecular spintronics device, composed of magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) and organometallic molecular clusters (OMCs). A prefabricated MTJ with exposed side edges, after enabling the bridging of OMC channels between its two ferromagnetic films, exhibited following phenomenon (i) dramatic increase in exchange coupling, (ii) 3-6 orders current suppression and (iii) photovoltaic effect. This paper focuses on the photovoltaic effect.Control experiments on isolated ferromagnetic films suggested that OMCs neither affected the magnetic properties nor produced any photovoltaic effect; photovoltaic effect was only observed on the ferromagnetic films serving as magnetic electrodes in a MTJ. Present paper invites further investigation of the similar photovoltaic effect on other combinations of MTJs and promising magnetic molecules, like single molecular magnets, organometallic clusters and porphyrins. This research can lead to mass producible and economical spin photovoltaic devices.