Interface-engineered voltage-driven magnetic tunnel junctions with ultra-low-energy magnetization switching

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Zhang, Yu, Xu, Meng, Zhou, Bowei, Eckel, Carter, Ghosh, Supriya, Yun, Hwanhui, Habiboglu, Ali, Lyu, Deyuan, Gopman, Daniel B, Wang, Jian-Ping, Mkhoyan, K. Andre, Wang, Weigang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Zhang, Yu
Xu, Meng
Zhou, Bowei
Eckel, Carter
Ghosh, Supriya
Yun, Hwanhui
Habiboglu, Ali
Lyu, Deyuan
Gopman, Daniel B
Wang, Jian-Ping
Mkhoyan, K. Andre
Wang, Weigang
author_facet Zhang, Yu
Xu, Meng
Zhou, Bowei
Eckel, Carter
Ghosh, Supriya
Yun, Hwanhui
Habiboglu, Ali
Lyu, Deyuan
Gopman, Daniel B
Wang, Jian-Ping
Mkhoyan, K. Andre
Wang, Weigang
contents Electric-field control of spin states offers a promising route to ultra-low-power, ultra-fast magnetization switching in spintronic devices such as magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). Recent progress in modulating spin-orbit interactions at the interfaces between 3d transition-metal ferromagnets and dielectric layers has underscored the role of atomic-scale heavy-metal doping in optimizing device performance. Here, we experimentally demonstrate highly energy-efficient, voltage-driven magnetization switching in MTJs exhibiting large tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR), enabled by a remote doping technique that precisely controls the iridium (Ir) concentration near the MgO-CoFeB interface in the free layer. Our devices achieve a switching energy of only 3.5 fJ per bit for nanoscale MTJs operating in the sub-nanosecond regime, while maintaining a TMR ratio up to 160 percent after 400 C post-annealing. These findings establish a viable pathway toward scalable, ultra-low-power nonvolatile memory, positioning voltage-driven MTJs as strong contenders for next-generation magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) and other emerging spintronic applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_18143
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Interface-engineered voltage-driven magnetic tunnel junctions with ultra-low-energy magnetization switching
Zhang, Yu
Xu, Meng
Zhou, Bowei
Eckel, Carter
Ghosh, Supriya
Yun, Hwanhui
Habiboglu, Ali
Lyu, Deyuan
Gopman, Daniel B
Wang, Jian-Ping
Mkhoyan, K. Andre
Wang, Weigang
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Electric-field control of spin states offers a promising route to ultra-low-power, ultra-fast magnetization switching in spintronic devices such as magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). Recent progress in modulating spin-orbit interactions at the interfaces between 3d transition-metal ferromagnets and dielectric layers has underscored the role of atomic-scale heavy-metal doping in optimizing device performance. Here, we experimentally demonstrate highly energy-efficient, voltage-driven magnetization switching in MTJs exhibiting large tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR), enabled by a remote doping technique that precisely controls the iridium (Ir) concentration near the MgO-CoFeB interface in the free layer. Our devices achieve a switching energy of only 3.5 fJ per bit for nanoscale MTJs operating in the sub-nanosecond regime, while maintaining a TMR ratio up to 160 percent after 400 C post-annealing. These findings establish a viable pathway toward scalable, ultra-low-power nonvolatile memory, positioning voltage-driven MTJs as strong contenders for next-generation magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) and other emerging spintronic applications.
title Interface-engineered voltage-driven magnetic tunnel junctions with ultra-low-energy magnetization switching
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.18143