Nyun Jong Lee

Nanoparticle Assemblies as Memristors

Recently a memristor ( Chua, L. O. IEEE Trans. Circuit Theory 1971 , 18 , 507 ), the fourth fundamental passive circuit element, has been demonstrated as thin film device operations ( Strukov, D. B.; Snider, G. S.; Stewart, D. R.; Williams, R. S. Nature (London) 2008 , 453 , 80 ; Yang, J. J.; Pickett. M. D.; Li, X.; Ohlberg, D. A. A.; Stewart, D. R.; Williams, R. S. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2008 , 3 , 429 ). A new addition to the memristor family can be nanoparticle assemblies consisting of an infinite number of monodispersed, crystalline magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) particles. Assembly of nanoparticles that have sizes below 10 nm, exhibits at room temperature a voltage-current hysteresis with an abrupt and large bipolar resistance switching (R(OFF)/R(ON) approximately 20). Interestingly, observed behavior could be interpreted by adopting an extended memristor model that combines both a time-dependent resistance and a time-dependent capacitance. We also observed that such behavior is not restricted to magnetites; it is a general property of nanoparticle assemblies as it was consistently observed in different types of spinel structured nanoparticles with different sizes and compositions. Further investigation into this new nanoassembly system will be of importance to the realization of the next generation nanodevices with potential advantages of simpler and inexpensive device fabrications.

Growth and characterization of thin Cu-phthalocyanine films on MgO(001) layer for organic light-emitting diodes

Surface morphology and thermal stability of Cu-phthalocyanine (CuPc) films grown on an epitaxially grown MgO(001) layer were investigated by using atomic force microscope and X-ray diffractometer. The (002) textured β phase of CuPc films were prepared at room temperature beyond the epitaxial MgO/Fe/MgO(001) buffer layer by the vacuum deposition technique. The CuPc structure remained stable even after post-annealing at 350°C for 1 h under vacuum, which is an important advantage of device fabrication. In order to improve the device performance, we investigated also current-voltage-luminescence characteristics for the new top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes with different thicknesses of CuPc layer.

Perpendicular Magnetization of FePt Alloy Films Epitaxially Grown on Si(100)

This study examined the structure and perpendicular magnetization of FePt films grown on Pt/Fe/MgO(100) buffered Si(100) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The [Fe(0.17㎚)/Pt(0.2㎚)] N multilayers were prepared at room temperature to form a L1?-FePt phase after vacuum annealing. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) was observed in the films after at least 15 repetitions (N = 15) of Fe/Pt deposition and annealing at 300 ℃ for 1 hour. Careful structural analysis of the films was carried out by x-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. These results will assist in the development of the low temperature L1?-FePt deposition process, which will be essential for future extremely high density magnetic recording media.

Electronic and Structural Properties of Interfaces in Fe∖MgO∖Cu-Phthalocyanine Hybrid Structures

The influence of insertion of an ultra-thin Cu-Phthalocyanine (CuPc) between MgO barrier and ferromagnetic layer in magnetic tunnel juctions (MTJs) was investigated. In order to understand the relation between the electronic and structural properties of FeMgOCuPc, the surface (or interface) analysis was carried out systematically by using spin polarized metastable He de-excited spectroscopy for the CuPc films grown on the Si(001)5 nm MgO(001)7 nm Fe(001)1.6 nm MgO(001) multilayer structure as the thickness of CuPc increases from 0 to 5 nm. In particular, for the 1.6 nm CuPc surface, a rather strong spin asymmetry between up- and down-spin band appears while it becomes weaker or disappears for the CuPc films thinner or thicker than ~1.6 nm. Our results emphasize the importance of the interfacial electronic properties of organic layers in the spin transport of the hybrid MTJs.

Interfacial Properties in Cu-phthalocyanine-based Hybrid Inorganic/Organic Multilayers

Interfacial properties of 5 nm MgO(001)/7 nm Fe(001)/1.8 nm MgO(001)/t nm Cu-phthalocyanine (CuPc) hybrid multilayers with t = 0, 1, 7, and 10 were investigated by using x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). Rather sharp interfacial properties were observed in the CuPc films grown on an epitaxial MgO/Fe/MgO(001) trilayer than a MgO/Fe(001) bilayer. This work suggests a new way to improve device performance of organic spintronic devices by utilizing an artificially grown MgO(001) thin layer.

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and spin reorientation transition in L10 FePt films

We investigated the thickness and composition dependence of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in L10 Fe1−xPtx (x = 0.4, 0.5, and 0.55) films. The FePt films with different thicknesses of 35 and 70 A were grown at the substrate temperature Ts = 300 °C by molecular beam epitaxy coevaporation technique. A (001)-oriented epitaxial L10 FePt film was grown on the thin (001)-oriented fcc Pt layer, while a poorly crystallized FePt film was formed on the (111)-textured Pt layer. Our results showed that, at a fixed thickness of 70 A, the PMA of FePt alloy films is enhanced as Pt content increases from 40% to 55%.

Interface Engineering in Quasi-Magnetic Tunnel Junctions with an Organic Barrier

Spin polarized tunneling through a hybrid tunnel barrier of a Spin filter (SF) based on a EuO ferro-magnetic semiconductor and an organic semiconductor (OSC) (rubrene in this case) was investigated. For quasi-magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) structures, such as Co/rubrene/EuO/Al, we observed a strong spin filtering effect of the EuO layer exhibiting I-V curves with high spin polarization (P) of up to 99% measured at 4 K. However, a magnetoresistance (MR) value of 9% was obtained at 4.2 K. The low MR compared to the high P could be attributed to spin scattering caused by structural defects at the interface between the EuO and rubrene, due to nonstoichiometry in the EuO.

Origin of surface polarization phenomena at the interface between pentacene/permalloy bilayers

The electrical properties at Pentacene/Permalloy interfaces were investigated. Surface polarization due to displacement of excess charges at the interface between metal and organic thin films is discussed.