Jiwei Lu

Terahertz-field-induced insulator-to-metal transition in vanadium dioxide metamaterial

Electron–electron interactions can render an otherwise conducting material insulating, with the insulator–metal phase transition in correlated-electron materials being the canonical macroscopic manifestation of the competition between charge-carrier itinerancy and localization. The transition can arise from underlying microscopic interactions among the charge, lattice, orbital and spin degrees of freedom, the complexity of which leads to multiple phase-transition pathways. For example, in many transition metal oxides, the insulator–metal transition has been achieved with external stimuli, including temperature, light, electric field, mechanical strain or magnetic field. Vanadium dioxide is particularly intriguing because both the lattice and on-site Coulomb repulsion contribute to the insulator-to-metal transition at 340 K (ref. 8). Thus, although the precise microscopic origin of the phase transition remains elusive, vanadium dioxide serves as a testbed for correlated-electron phase-transition dynamics. Here we report the observation of an insulator–metal transition in vanadium dioxide induced by a terahertz electric field. This is achieved using metamaterial-enhanced picosecond, high-field terahertz pulses to reduce the Coulomb-induced potential barrier for carrier transport. A nonlinear metamaterial response is observed through the phase transition, demonstrating that high-field terahertz pulses provide alternative pathways to induce collective electronic and structural rearrangements. The metamaterial resonators play a dual role, providing sub-wavelength field enhancement that locally drives the nonlinear response, and global sensitivity to the local changes, thereby enabling macroscopic observation of the dynamics. This methodology provides a powerful platform to investigate low-energy dynamics in condensed matter and, further, demonstrates that integration of metamaterials with complex matter is a viable pathway to realize functional nonlinear electromagnetic composites.

Advances and Future Prospects of Spin-Transfer Torque Random Access Memory

Spin-transfer torque random access memory (STT-RAM) is a potentially revolutionary universal memory technology that combines the capacity and cost benefits of DRAM, the fast read and write performance of SRAM, the non-volatility of Flash, and essentially unlimited endurance. In order to realize a small cell size, high speed and achieve a fully functional STT-RAM chip, the MgO-barrier magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) used as the core storage and readout element must meet a set of performance requirements on switching current density, voltage, magneto-resistance ratio (MR), resistance-area product (RA), thermal stability factor (¿) , switching current distribution, read resistance distribution and reliability. In this paper, we report the progress of our work on device design, material improvement, wafer processing, integration with CMOS, and testing for a demonstration STT-RAM test chip, and projections based on modeling of the future characteristics of STT-RAM.

The Promise of Nanomagnetics and Spintronics for Future Logic and Universal Memory

This paper is both a review of some recent developments in the utilization of magnetism for applications to logic and memory and a description of some new innovations in nanomagnetics and spintronics. Nanomagnetics is primarily based on the magnetic interactions, while spintronics is primarily concerned with devices that utilize spin polarized currents. With the end of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) in sight, nanomagnetics can provide a new paradigm for information process using the principles of magnetic quantum cellular automata (MQCA). This paper will review and describe these principles and then introduce a new nonlithographic method of producing reconfigurable arrays of MQCAs and/or storage bits that can be configured electrically. Furthermore, this paper will provide a brief description of magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), the first mainstream spintronic nonvolatile random access memory and project how far its successor spin transfer torque random access memory (STT-RAM) can go to provide a truly universal memory that can in principle replace most, if not all, semiconductor memories in the near future. For completeness, a description of an all-metal logic architecture based on magnetoresistive structures (transpinnor) will be described as well as some approaches to logic using magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs).

Low-loss, tunable bismuth zinc niobate films deposited by rf magnetron sputtering

Near-stoichiometric Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7 (BZN) films were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering. The relative permittivity and dielectric loss of BZN films were measured with frequencies up to 100 MHz using planar Al2O3/Pt/BZN/Pt and Si/SiO2/Pt/BZN/Pt capacitor structures. BZN films with thicknesses in the range of 160 to 170 nm exhibited electric field tunable permittivities up to 220, and dielectric loss tangents less than 0.0005. A maximum applied bias field of 2.4 MV/cm resulted in a ∼55% tunability of the dielectric constant. The permittivity was independent of the measurement frequency over a wide frequency range (10 kHz–100 MHz). Above 1 MHz, losses were increasingly dominated by conductor losses of the Pt bottom electrode. Their excellent dielectric properties make BZN films attractive candidates for low-loss, medium-permittivity integrated device applications.

Temperature dependence of the dielectric tunability of pyrochlore bismuth zinc niobate thin films

The change in permittivity of bismuth zinc niobate (BZN) films with the cubic pyrochlore structure under an applied electric field was measured as a function of temperature. Dielectric measurements were performed using parallel-plate capacitor structures with Pt electrodes on sapphire substrates. The electric field tunability of the permittivity was weakly temperature dependent and increased with decreasing temperature up to the onset of dielectric relaxation. At temperatures below the onset of the dielectric relaxation (similar to150 K at 1 MHz), larger electric fields were required to achieve the highest tunabilities. A simple model of hopping, noninteracting dipoles was not suited to describe. the dielectric tunability of BZN thin films. A better description of the experimentally observed behavior at temperatures above the onset of the dielectric relaxation was obtained using a simple random-field model with hopping dipoles in a uniform distribution of random fields

Microwave dielectric properties of tunable capacitors employing bismuth zinc niobate thin films

Parallel plate capacitors employing Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7 (BZN) thin films with the pyrochlore structure were fabricated on platinized sapphire substrates. The total device quality factor and capacitance were analyzed in the microwave frequency range (up to 20 GHz) by measuring reflection coefficients with a vector network analyzer. The parasitics due to the probe pads were extracted from the measurements. The total device quality factor, which included losses from the dielectric and the electrodes, was more than 200 up to 20 GHz for devices with an area of 100μm2. Based on the frequency dependence of the impedance, series losses of unknown origin appear to dominate the device quality factor at higher frequencies. No significant dispersion in the device capacitance, as would be associated with a dielectric relaxation of BZN, was measured. The large electric field tunability of the permittivity of BZN films and the high device quality factors make these films attractive for voltage controlled microwave devices.

Directed Self-Assembly of Epitaxial CoFe2O4-BiFeO3 Multiferroic Nanocomposites

CoFe(2)O(4) (CFO)-BiFeO(3) (BFO) nanocomposites are an intriguing option for future memory and logic technologies due to the magnetoelectric properties of the system. However, these nanocomposites form with CFO pillars randomly located within a BFO matrix, making implementation in devices difficult. To overcome this, we present a technique to produce patterned nanocomposites through self-assembly. CFO islands are patterned on Nb-doped SrTiO(3) to direct the self-assembly of epitaxial CFO-BFO nanocomposites, producing square arrays of CFO pillars.

Low-loss tunable capacitors fabricated directly on gold bottom electrodes

At microwave frequencies, conductor losses due to the bottom electrode resistance severely limit the performance of metal-insulator-metal capacitors that employ tunable dielectric thin films. Here we demonstrate that a novel tunable dielectric, bismuth zinc niobate (BZN), can be integrated directly with low-resistivity Au bottom electrodes. The favorable crystallization kinetics allowed for a low thermal budget process compatible with Au electrodes. BZN thin films on Au bottom electrodes showed low dielectric loss tangents of ∼0.0005 and high dielectric tunabilities of ∼50%. The Au/BZN interface was abrupt and free of reaction phases. At high frequencies (>1MHz) the total Au/BZN capacitor device loss was reduced compared to capacitors with Pt bottom electrodes. The low device losses of Au/BZN capacitors revealed a device geometry-dependent loss mechanism that contributed significantly to the device loss at high frequencies.

Growth and characterization of vanadium dioxide thin films prepared by reactive-biased target ion beam deposition

Using a novel growth technique called reactive bias target ion beam deposition, the authors have prepared highly oriented VO2 thin films on Al2O3 (0001) substrates at various growth temperatures ranging from 250to550°C. The influence of the growth parameters on the microstructure and transport properties of VO2 thin films was systematically investigated. A change in electrical conductivity of 103 was measured at 341K associated with the well known metal-insulator transition (MIT). It was observed that the MIT temperature can be tuned to higher temperatures by mixing VO2 and other vanadium oxide phases. In addition, a current/electric-field induced MIT was observed at room temperature with a drop in electrical conductivity by a factor of 8. The current densities required to induce the MIT in VO2 are about 3×104A∕cm2. The switching time of the MIT, as measured by voltage pulsed measurements, was determined to be no more than 10ns.

Influence of strain on the dielectric relaxation of pyrochlore bismuth zinc niobate thin films

Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7 (BZN) films were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering on different substrates to systematically vary the film stress due the thermal mismatch between BZN and the substrate. Substrates included Pt/SiO2 covered silicon, vycor glass, magnesium oxide, and sapphire. The BZN film microstructures (orientation, grain size, and roughness) were similar on the different substrates. Measurements of the permittivity and dielectric loss tangent were carried out between 80 and 300 K at frequencies between 10 kHz and 10 MHz. Films that were under a moderate tensile stress showed a low-temperature dielectric relaxation, associated with a dielectric loss peak and drop in permittivity, at ∼100 K. In contrast, the dielectric relaxation was shifted to temperatures below 80 K in films on vycor that were under a large tensile stress. This shift reflected a lowering of the activation energy of the dielectric relaxation processes due to tensile stress. It is expected that films under large tensile stress require...