Sputter Gas Damage in Nanolayered Pt/Co/Ir-based Synthetic Antiferromagnets for Top-Pinned Magnetic Tunnel Junctions
Sputter Gas Damage in Nanolayered Pt/Co/Ir-based Synthetic Antiferromagnets for Top-Pinned Magnetic Tunnel Junctions
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DOI：
10.1021/acsanm.2c03917
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发表时间：
2022-12
影响因子：
5.9
通讯作者：
C. Taylor;Marzieh Savadkoohi;Pawan Tyagi;J. Shoup;D. Arena;J. Borchers;J. Eckert;D. Gopman
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
C. Taylor;Marzieh Savadkoohi;Pawan Tyagi;J. Shoup;D. Arena;J. Borchers;J. Eckert;D. Gopman
我们研究溅射损伤的作用限制的垂直磁各向异性和层间交换耦合在Pt/Co/Ir为基础的合成反铁磁体，一个关键的建筑模块中使用的微电子社区的独立和嵌入式磁随机存取存储器。通过用Kr或Ar代替更常规的Ar工艺气体，我们将轰击衬底的背散射溅射气体离子的能量从超过100 eV降低到几十eV。减少这种动力学轰击对于避免这种纳米层功能异质结构的相互混合是至关重要的，其中组分Pt、Co和Ir层的厚度均低于1 nm。我们的方法导致垂直磁各向异性（>2 × 106 J/m ~ 3）和层间交换耦合能（> 3.5mJ/m ~ 2）的同时增强。这种在垂直各向异性和层间交换耦合方面的有利改善在5 nm厚的Pt缓冲层上以及另外在MgO/CoFeB/Mo底层复合物上是明显的，表明这种方法可以改善垂直磁性隧道结器件中的顶部钉扎参考层和底部钉扎参考层的性能。这些实验结果可能有助于推进传统和合成反铁磁器件的新兴自旋电子存储器技术的处理。
We examine the role of sputter damage on limiting the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and interlayer exchange coupling in Pt/Co/Ir-based synthetic antiferromagnets, a key building block used in the microelectronics community for standalone and embedded magnetic random access memories. By replacing the more conventional Ar process gas with Kr or Xe, we reduce the energy of backscattered sputter gas ions bombarding the substrate from in excess of 100 eV to a few 10 s of eV. Reducing this kinetic bombardment is critical to avoid intermixing of this nanolayered functional heterostructure, with the constituent Pt, Co, and Ir layer thicknesses each below 1 nm. Our approach leads to a simultaneous enhancement in the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (>2 × 106J/m3) and interlayer exchange coupling energy (>3.5 mJ/m2). This advantageous improvement in perpendicular anisotropy and interlayer exchange coupling is evident on a 5 nm-thick Pt buffer layer and additionally on an MgO/CoFeB/Mo underlayers complex, showing that this method can improve the performance of both top- and bottom-pinned reference layers in perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction devices. These experimental findings may help advance the processing of conventional and synthetic antiferromagnetic devices for emerging spintronic memory technologies.