MAGNETIC TUNNEL JUNCTION STORAGE ELEMENT COMPRISING A TUNNEL BARRIER, PINNED LAYER AND TOP ELECTRODE FORMED IN A DAMASCENE-TYPE PROCESS

摘要

A magnetic tunnel junction storage element for a spin transfer torque magnetoresistive random access memory (STT-MRAM) bit cell includes a bottom electrode layer, a pinned layer adjacent to the bottom electrode layer, a dielectric layer encapsulating a portion of the bottom electrode layer and the pinned layer, the dielectric layer including sidewalls that define a hole adjacent to a portion of the pinned layer, a tunneling barrier adjacent to the pinned layer, a free layer adjacent to the tunneling barrier, and a top electrode adjacent to the free layer, wherein a width of the bottom electrode layer and/or the pinned barrier in a first direction is greater than a width of a contact area between the pinned layer and the tunneling barrier in the first direction. Also a method of forming an STT-MRAM bit cell.