Reduction of switching field distributions by edge oxidization of submicron magnetoresistive tunneling junction cells for high-density magnetoresistive random access memories

摘要

An edge oxidization effect on magnetization reversals is investigated for submicron-patterned magnetoresistive tunneling junctions (MTJs). By the MTJ edge oxidization which causes the MTJ edge saturation magnetization (M_s) reduction, the switching field distributions (SFDs) for 0.24 X 0.48 mu m~2 MTJs are reduced to less than 10 percent. The offset fields and the kinks in resistance-magnetic-field curves are reduced. Micromagnetic simulation results predict that the edge magnetization reversals are suppressed by the MTJ edge M_s reduction and the edge domain size at the remanent states becomes small. Consequently, the edge domain motion suppression by the edge oxidization is effective for decreasing the SFDs.