Magnetic tunnel junctions using Co/Pt multilayered free layers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Abstract

Co/Pt multilayered films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have a large magneto-optical Kerr effect. To use the films with a submicron magneto-optical light modulator driven by spin transfer switching, we fabricated two types of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with Co/Pt multilayered films for the free layers. One is an fcc-based MTJ, another is a bcc-based MTJ with CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB junction. The fcc-based MTJ with a Ag buffer layer on the bottom electrode showed a large coercive force of the pinned layer, a large Kerr rotation angle of 0.3 degree in the free layer and a tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio of 3.8%. In the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB junction, an X-ray diffraction pattern of an MgO layer showed a large MgO(002)-orientation. However, the TMR ratio was less than 3 %. An MTJ with a Ta buffer layer between the CoFeB layer and the Co/Pt multilayered films in the free layer was prepared. The Ta buffer was used to alleviate a lattice mismatch between bcc-CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB and fcc-Co/Pt multilayer. The peak intensity of the MgO(002)-orientation was increased up to 2 times. This result suggests that the crystalline texture of the bcc-CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB junction is strongly influenced by the fcc-Co/Pt multilayered films.