Kiyokazu Nagahara

Micromagnetic analysis of current driven domain wall motion in nanostrips with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Current driven domain wall motion in nanostrips with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy was analyzed by using micromagnetic simulation. The threshold current density of perpendicular anisotropy strips in adiabatic approximation was much smaller than that of in-plane anisotropy strips, and it reduced with thickness reduction. The differences originate from the differences in domain wall width and hard-axis anisotropy. Also, the threshold current density of perpendicular anisotropy strips required to depin from a pinning site was quite small although the threshold field of the strips was sufficiently large relative to those of in-plane anisotropy strips.

A 90nm 12ns 32Mb 2T1MTJ MRAM

Since MRAM cells have unlimited write endurance, they can be used as substitutes for DRAMs or SRAMs. MRAMs in electronic appliances enhance their convenience and energy efficiency because data in MRAMs are nonvolatile and retained even in the power-off state. Therefore, 2 to 16Mb standalone MRAMs have been developed [1–4]. However, in terms of their random-access times, they are not enough fast (25ns) [1] as substitutes for all kinds of stand-alone DRAMs or SRAMs. To attain a standalone MRAM with both a fast random-access time and a large capacity, we adopt a cell structure with 2 transistors and 1 magnetic tunneling junction (2T1MTJ), which we previously published for a 1Mb embedded MRAM macro [5]. We need to develop circuit schemes to achieve a larger memory capacity and a higher cell-occupation ratio with small access-time degradation. We describe the circuit schemes of a 32Mb MRAM, which enable 63% cell occupation ratio and 12ns access time.

Low-resistance tunnel magnetoresistive head

A tunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) head with a low resistance of about 30 /spl Omega/ and effective track width of 1.4 /spl mu/m was fabricated using an in situ natural oxidation (ISNO) technique. Its read-output was almost the same as that expected from test elements at the wafer level. We found no large difference in noise voltages between TMR head and GMR head when their resistance was about 30 /spl Omega/. A very low-resistivity TMR element with a resistance-area product of 14 /spl Omega//spl middot//spl mu/m/sup 2/ and a fairly high /spl Delta/R/R of 14% was also developed using ISNO. A signal-to-noise ratio consideration suggests that such low resistance is a key to TMR heads for high recording densities.

Relation between critical current of domain wall motion and wire dimension in perpendicularly magnetized Co/Ni nanowires

We investigated the relation between critical current of domain wall motion and wire dimension by using perpendicularly magnetized Co/Ni nanowires with different widths and thicknesses. The critical current, Ic, became less than 0.2 mA when w<100 nm, suggesting that magnetic random access memory with domain wall motion can replace conventional embedded memories. In addition, in agreement with theory, the critical current density, jc, decreased as wire width decreased and became much less than 5×107 A/cm2 when w<100 nm. We also performed a micromagnetic simulation and obtained good agreement between the experiment and simulation, although a few discrepancies were found.

Analysis of current-driven domain wall motion from pinning sites in nanostrips with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Current-driven domain wall motion from pinning sites in nanostrips with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is studied by using micromagnetic simulations, supported by a one-dimensional model of wall dynamics. The threshold current density of perpendicular anisotropy strips is much smaller than that of in-plane anisotropy strips, and is almost independent of the pinning potential strength. This results from the narrower domain wall width, smaller hard-axis anisotropy, and the larger ratio of the depinning field and hard-axis anisotropy. In the one-dimensional model with a zero damping constant, the threshold current density is found to be about 0.72 of the intrinsic threshold current density for a perfect strip in a strong pinning regime that corresponds to strips with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The fact that the threshold current density from the pinning sites is smaller than the intrinsic current density is because the effective field, equivalent to the pinning potential, enhances a breakdown in t...

Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ) Patterning for Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) Process Applications

We have developed a top free type magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) patterning technique that involves tunnel barrier etching with enough time margins for chemical assisted ion etching (CAIE). The approximately 1 nm thick tunnel barrier enables stopping the etching process in a shorter time margin. We have found that no aluminum-oxide barrier shorting by re-deposition occurred in chlorine based CAIE, when the etching depth into anti-ferromagnetic IrMn layer was less than 5 nm. The magnetoresistance (MR) ratio of the whole MTJ patterns reached 35% on a 6-inch wafer. The time margin of the etching was 120 s, which is long enough for an magnetic random access memory (MRAM) process.

Intrinsic Threshold Current Density of Domain Wall Motion in Nanostrips With Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy for Use in Low-Write-Current MRAMs

In this paper, we have calculated the intrinsic threshold current density of domain wall (DW) motion in nanostrips with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and have estimated writing properties of magnetic random access memories (MRAMs) with DW motion. Carrying out a micromagnetic simulation, we revealed that the intrinsic threshold current density decreases with decreases in the strip thickness, width, and magnetization, whereas it did not depend significantly on magnetocrystalline anisotropy and exchange stiffness. These results showed good agreement with one-dimensional (1-D) analysis. We also found that current-induced DW motion in PMA strips may have potential for use in low-write-current MRAMs. For a width of less than roughly 100 nm, comparable properties to those of existing memories can be obtained.

Scalable Cell Technology Utilizing Domain Wall Motion for High-speed MRAM

We propose a new MRAM cell that stores data in the form of the domain wall (DW) position. The DW is moved by the spin-polarized current that flows in the free layer. The cell was fabricated and the writing characteristics were investigated. A writing current of the cell was scalable, and the current density was reduced by using a new material. The cell is suitable for a high-speed MRAM that will compete with an eSRAM.

Large thermal stability independent of critical current of domain wall motion in Co/Ni nanowires with step pinning sites

The relation between critical current, critical field, and thermal stability of domain wall (DW) trapped at step pinning sites was studied using Co/Ni nanowires with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). A sharp step structure was fabricated, which increased the critical field of DW motion, while the critical current was independent of the critical field. Also, the derived thermal stability (ΔE/kBT) for the step samples was much more than 60. These results indicate that the DW motion in PMA nanowires has potential for memory devices with both a small driving current and large thermal stability.

Bit yield improvement by precise control of stray fields from SAF pinned layers for high-density MRAMs

A write-operating window with a 100% functional bit yield was successfully obtained by the control of stray fields from synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) pinned layers in conventional magnetic random access memories with rectangular magnetic tunneling junction bits. The stray fields were controlled by a newly developed ion-beam etching technique without causing damage and by a precise setting of the SAF pinned layer thickness, and are balanced with Neel coupling fields. As a result, it was found that symmetric switching astroid curves with no offset were obtained and switching distributions were minimized at the zero offset field.