Sungjung Joo

Magnetic-field-controlled reconfigurable semiconductor logic

Logic devices based on magnetism show promise for increasing computational efficiency while decreasing consumed power. They offer zero quiescent power and yet combine novel functions such as programmable logic operation and non-volatile built-in memory. However, practical efforts to adapt a magnetic device to logic suffer from a low signal-to-noise ratio and other performance attributes that are not adequate for logic gates. Rather than exploiting magnetoresistive effects that result from spin-dependent transport of carriers, we have approached the development of a magnetic logic device in a different way: we use the phenomenon of large magnetoresistance found in non-magnetic semiconductors in high electric fields. Here we report a device showing a strong diode characteristic that is highly sensitive to both the sign and the magnitude of an external magnetic field, offering a reversible change between two different characteristic states by the application of a magnetic field. This feature results from magnetic control of carrier generation and recombination in an InSb p–n bilayer channel. Simple circuits combining such elementary devices are fabricated and tested, and Boolean logic functions including AND, OR, NAND and NOR are performed. They are programmed dynamically by external electric or magnetic signals, demonstrating magnetic-field-controlled semiconductor reconfigurable logic at room temperature. This magnetic technology permits a new kind of spintronic device, characterized as a current switch rather than a voltage switch, and provides a simple and compact platform for non-volatile reconfigurable logic devices.

Local Hall effect in hybrid ferromagnetic/semiconductor devices

The authors have investigated the magnetoresistance of ferromagnet-semiconductor devices in an InAs two-dimensional electron gas system in which the magnetic field has a sinusoidal profile. The magnetoresistance of their device is large. The longitudinal resistance has an additional contribution which is odd in applied magnetic field. It becomes even negative at low temperature where the transport is ballistic. Based on the numerical analysis, they confirmed that their data can be explained in terms of the local Hall effect due to the profile of negative and positive field regions. This device may be useful for future spintronic applications.

Magnetic bead counter using a micro-Hall sensor for biological applications

Micro-Hall sensors have been fabricated, and various numbers of micron-size magnetic beads have been placed within the sensor area. The Hall resistances measured at room temperature are found to be proportional to the number of the beads, and are in good agreement with the numerically simulated results presented in this study. Our sensors are designed to measure the number of beads between zero and full-scale signals for a given number range of interest. The effects of miniaturizing the beads and sensors to nanoscale are also discussed.

An electrical switching device controlled by a magnetic field-dependent impact ionization process

An abrupt change of conductance at a threshold magnetic field was observed in a device consisting of a nonmagnetic narrow-gap semiconductor. The conductance varies more than 25 times as the magnetic field increases. The threshold magnetic field can be tuned using a bias voltage from zero to several hundred Gauss. This large magnetoconductance effect is caused by the magnetic field-dependent impact ionization process. A theoretical model is proposed, and calculations based on this model simulate the experimental results closely. This device may be a good candidate for an electrical switching device controlled by a magnetic field.

Effect of oxidizing the ferromagnetic electrode in magnetic tunnel junctions on tunneling magnetoresistance

The ferromagnetic layer in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) was oxidized with varying O2 concentrations, and the corresponding effect on spin-dependent transport was studied. As expected from our previous results for MTJs with an over-oxidized AlOx tunnel barrier, a partially oxidized ferromagnetic layer plays an important role in spin-dependent transport. As the temperature is lowered, the junction resistance increases dramatically, and the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) is strongly suppressed. Increasing the O2 concentration enhances the increase of resistance and suppression of TMR. This work supports our previous conclusion that oxidizing the ferromagnetic layer generates localized magnetic moments, which act as a scattering center for spin-polarized tunneling electrons.

Large spin susceptibility of HgCdTe two dimensional electron gas in the extreme quantum limit regime

The spin susceptibility of HgCdTe 2DEG system was measured in this study with two independent methods which yielded the same value. It is remarkably large compared to any other 2DEG system. The large value of spin susceptibility as well as the large g-factor are the unique properties of HgCdTe which can be utilized as spintronic material.

Improvement of the Spin Transfer Induced Switching Effect by Copper and Ruthenium Buffer Layer

The spin transfer induced magnetization switching has been reported to occur in magnetic multilayer structures whose scope usually consists of one stack of ferromagnetic / non-ferromagnetic / ferromagnetic (F / N / F) materials. In this work, it is shown that: 1) Copper used as a buffer layer between the free Co and the Au cap-layer can clearly increase the probability to get the spin transfer induced magnetization switching in a simple spin valve Co 11 / Cu 6 / Co 2 (㎚); 2) Furthermore, when Ruthenium is simultaneously applied as a buffer layer on the Si-substrate, the critical switching currents can be reduced by 30%, and the absolute resistance change delta R [△R] of that stack can be enlarged by 35%. The enhancement of the spin transfer induced magnetization switching can be ascribed to a lower local stress in the thin Co layer caused by a better lattice match between Co and Cu and the smoothening effect of Ru on the thick Co layer.

Spin-filtering effect of thin Al2O3 barrier on tunneling magnetoresistance

Tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) dependence on the Al2O3 barrier thickness was investigated for CoFe/Al2O3/CoFe magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). MTJs with very thin Al2O3 layers were grown by inserting an amorphous FeZr buffer layer whose role is only to reduce the roughness of bottom electrode. The TMR decreased as the thickness of the Al2O3 layer was reduced. The results are analyzed with the dependence of the spin-filtering effect on the Al2O3 thickness. It was found that a simple model of separating sp- and d-like electrons does not work, and it may suggest that the tunneling electrons are in rather hybridized state.