Rotation of the Pinned Direction in Artificial Antiferromagnetic Tunnel Junctions by Field Annealing

Abstract

The effect of field annealing on the magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with an artificial antiferromagnetic layer is investigated. Samples, which were grown under the same condition, are annealed with low (200-Oe) and high (1-kOe) magnetic fields. The rotation of the pinned direction is observed for the sample annealed at high magnetic field without decrease of tunneling magnetoresistance by varying the applied field direction. This result provides a method to adjust the pinned direction of the MTJ, which may be critical in switching a magnetic RAM (MRAM) cell.Index Terms-Artificial anitferromagnetic (AAF) layer, field annealing, magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR).

Localized annealing of polysilicon microstructures by inductively heated ferromagnetic films

“…Also, deposition rates for CVD and thermally-driven processes, such as SiO 2 growth from silicon, could be significantly altered (less so for PVD) by applying heat to certain regions while a reactive gas load is applied to the system, thus selectively enhancing the rate of reaction. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have recently published results from a related technique in which resistive heat generated through directly applied currents is used to locally enhance the growth rate of PECVD polysilicon [Joachim, et al, 2003] often require a magnetic anneal, a low-temperature anneal in the presence of a constant magnetic field, in order to establish the uniaxial anisotropy required for digital data storage capability [Jun, et al, 2004]. CMOS-compatible temperature elevation could be achieved through inductive heating, either using a time-varying field separate from the constant poling field or a single field with both direct and alternating components, or through other localized means [Bergstrom, et al, 2007]…”