Characterization of nano-oxide layers fabricated by ion beam oxidation

摘要

In this paper, a remote O{sub}2 ion source is used for the formation of nano-oxide layers. The oxidation efficiency was measured in CoFe-oxide films, and a decrease of the oxide layer with the pan angle and the oxidation pressure is observed. For the same oxidation pressure, the oxidation efficiency depends on the O{sub}2 content in the Ar-O{sub}2 plasma. These results were applied in optimizing the fabrication of Al{sub}2O{sub}3 barrier for tunnel junctions. This method was also used to fabricate junctions with Fe-oxide layers inserted at the Al{sub}2O{sub}3-CoFe interface. TEM and magnetization data indicate that after anneal at 385 ℃, a homogeneous ferromagnetic Fe-oxide layer (Fe{sub}3O{sub}4) is formed.