Dynamic compact model of thermally assisted switching magnetic tunnel junctions

Abstract

The general purpose of spin electronics is to take advantage of the electron's spin in addition to its electrical charge to build innovative electronic devices. These devices combine magnetic materials which are used as spin polarizer or analyzer together with semiconductors or insulators, resulting in innovative hybrid CMOS/magnetic (Complementary MOS) architectures. In particular, magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) can be used for the design of magnetic random access memories [S. Tehrani, Proc. IEEE 91, 703 (2003)], magnetic field programmable gate arrays [Y. Guillement, International Journal of Reconfigurable Computing, 2008], low-power application specific integrated circuits [S. Matsunaga, Appl. Phys. Express 1, 091301 (2008)], and rf oscillators. The thermally assisted switching (TAS) technology requires heating the MTJ before writing it by means of an external field. It reduces the overall power consumption, solves the data writing selectivity issues, and improves the thermal stability of the written information for high density applications. The design of hybrid architectures requires a MTJ compact model, which can be used in standard electrical simulators of the industry. As a result, complete simulations of CMOS/MTJ hybrid circuits can be performed before experimental realization and testing. This article presents a highly accurate model of the MTJ based on the TAS technology. It is compatible with the Spectre electrical simulator of Cadence design suite. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.