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Project

Material Exploration for Advanced MRAM

Both VCMA and SOT have been demonstrated on imec’s 300mm platform. The issue of field free switching has been overcome through device design and integration e.g. curved SOT lines and integrated hard magnets. However, these limit the scalability of the technology. In addition, the current densities required for SOT are much too large, while the VCMA coefficient is too small limiting its practicality. To solve these issues, we have chosen 3 classes of materials: 1) Synthetic Antiferromagnet (SAF) – ‘Macroscopic’ compensation of 2 coupled magnetic layers 2) Ferrimagnet – Two opposing atomic sub-lattices of different, and variable, moment 3) Antiferromagnet – Antiparallel coupled, fully compensated atomic moments Overall, the key challenge to enabling one of these material sets will be integration with the MTJ while maintaining the desired characteristics of the new material, without degrading those of the MTJ. Whilst a broad subject area, the general approaches for enabling these, as well as their advantages, are similar. This will require a full study, from developing and characterizing the standalone material to understanding how it affects the local environment of the MTJ magnetically and structurally. Finally, integration into a device for switching dynamics would be needed for complete assessment.

Date:26 Sep 2021 →  Today
Keywords:VCMA, SOT, Ferrimagnetism, Antiferromagnetism, Synthetic antiferromagnet, MRAM
Disciplines:Magnetism and superconductivity
Project type:PhD project