Electric-field-assisted switching in magnetic tunnel junctions
Electric-field-assisted switching in magnetic tunnel junctions
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DOI：
10.1038/nmat3171
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发表时间：
2012-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
41.2
通讯作者：
Chien, C. L.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wang, Wei-Gang;Li, Mingen;Chien, C. L.
自旋传递转矩效应的出现，使得磁性纳米结构在没有磁场的情况下，仅靠电流就能实现定点开关。然而，通常的自旋转矩开关所需的临界电流密度仍然顽固地高约10(6)-10(7)A cm（-2）。如果通过电压的电场能够帮助或完成铁磁体的开关，这将是根本性的变革。在这里，我们报道了具有界面垂直磁各向异性的CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB磁隧道结的电场辅助可逆开关，其中矫顽力，磁构型和隧道磁电阻可以通过与小电流密度相关的电压脉冲来控制。这些结果代表了磁性隧道结超低能量开关的关键一步，并为探索其他电压控制的自旋电子器件开辟了新的途径。
The advent of spin transfer torque effect accommodates site-specific switching of magnetic nanostructures by current alone without magnetic field. However, the critical current density required for usual spin torque switching remains stubbornly high around 10(6)-10(7) A cm(-2). It would be fundamentally transformative if an electric field through a voltage could assist or accomplish the switching of ferromagnets. Here we report electric-field-assisted reversible switching in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions with interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, where the coercivity, the magnetic configuration and the tunnelling magnetoresistance can be manipulated by voltage pulses associated with much smaller current densities. These results represent a crucial step towards ultralow energy switching in magnetic tunnel junctions, and open a new avenue for exploring other voltage-controlled spintronic devices.