Abstract
The effect of Co interlayers in -Fe(001)/Co/MgO/Co/Fe- magnetic tunnel junctions is studied by first-principles calculation. We confirm that the Co layers inserted at the two Fe/MgO interfaces strongly influence the interfacial resonance (IR) states and the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR). The effect is not monotonic. Strongest IR occurs at Co layer thickness of 0.5 monolayer (ML). With 1 ML Co, the IR is dramatically reduced and TMR ratio is maximized.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 172501 |
| Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
| Volume | 93 |
| Issue number | 17 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The project was supported by the State Key Project of Fundamental Research of Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) (Grant No. 2006CB932200), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC) (Grant No. 10574156), and the Knowledge Innovation Program Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences. X.F.H. gratefully thanks the partial support of Outstanding Young Researcher Foundation (NSFC, Grant Nos. 50528101 and 50721001), K. C. Wong Education Foundation, Hong Kong, and Microfabrication Center of Institute of Physics, CAS. A portion of this research was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is sponsored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by the Division of Scientific User Facilities, U.S. Department of Energy.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Outstanding Young Researcher Foundation | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Basic Energy Sciences | |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory | |
| Institute of Physics | |
| National Natural Science Foundation of China | 50528101, 10574156, 50721001 |
| Chinese Academy of Sciences | |
| Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China | 2006CB932200 |
| K. C. Wong Education Foundation |