Magnetoresistance effect element

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10199570-B2
Application number	US-201615554089-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2016
Priority date	Mar 31, 2015
Publication date	Feb 5, 2019
Grant date	Feb 5, 2019

Abstract

A magnetoresistance effect element has a first ferromagnetic metal layer, a second ferromagnetic metal layer, and a tunnel barrier layer that is sandwiched between the first and second ferromagnetic metal layers, and a tunnel barrier layer that is sandwiched between the first and second ferromagnetic metal layers, the tunnel barrier layer is expressed by a composition formula of AB 2 O x (0<x≤4), and has a spinel structure in which cations are arranged in a disordered manner, the tunnel barrier layer has a lattice-matched portion and a lattice-mismatched portion, A is a divalent cation of plural non-magnetic elements, B is an aluminum ion, and in the composition formula, the number of the divalent cation is smaller than half the number of the aluminum ion.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A magnetoresistance effect element comprising:
a first ferromagnetic metal layer;
a second ferromagnetic metal layer; and
a tunnel barrier layer that is sandwiched between the first and second ferromagnetic metal layers,
wherein the tunnel barrier layer is expressed by a composition formula of AB 2 O x (0<x≤4), and has a spinel structure in which cations are arranged in a disordered manner,
the tunnel barrier layer has a lattice-matched portion that is lattice-matched with both of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer, and a lattice-mismatched portion that is not lattice-matched with at least one of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer,
A is a divalent cation of plural non-magnetic elements,
B is an aluminum ion, and
in the composition formula, the number of the divalent cation is smaller than half the number of the aluminum ion.

2. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein a volume ratio of the lattice-matched portion with respect to a volume of the entire tunnel barrier layer is 65% to 95%.

3. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein the divalent cation of the non-magnetic element is in a proportion of 15% to 42.5% with respect to the aluminum ion.

4. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein the tunnel barrier layer has a cubic structure as a basic structure.

5. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein in the non-magnetic element, the divalent cation is any one selected from the group consisting of Mg, Zn, Cd, Ag, Pt, and Pb.

6. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein the first ferromagnetic metal layer has larger coercivity than the second ferromagnetic metal layer.

7. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer has magnetic anisotropy perpendicular to a stacking direction.

8. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer is Co 2 Mn 1-a Fe a Al b Si 1-b (0≤a≤0≤b≤1).

9. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein the divalent cation of the non-magnetic element is in a proportion of 7.5% to 37.5% with respect to the aluminum ion.

10. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein a size of a film surface of the lattice-matched portion of the tunnel barrier layer in a direction parallel thereto is 30 nm or less.

11. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein the tunnel barrier layer has a film thickness of 1.7 nm to 3.0 nm.

12. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein an element having the largest ionic radius among elements included in the divalent cation of the non-magnetic element is included in a proportion of 12.5% to 90% in the divalent cation of the non-magnetic element.

13. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 , wherein the lattice-matched portion includes a plurality of continuously connected lattice lines, and the lattice-mismatched portion includes a plurality of continuously unconnected lattice lines.

14. A magnetoresistance effect element comprising:
a first ferromagnetic metal layer;
a second ferromagnetic metal layer; and
a tunnel barrier layer that is sandwiched between the first and second ferromagnetic metal layers,
wherein the tunnel barrier layer is expressed by a composition formula of AB 2 O x (0<x≤4), and has a spinel structure in which cations are arranged in a disordered manner,
the tunnel barrier layer has a lattice-matched portion that is lattice-matched with both of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer, and a lattice-mismatched portion that is not lattice-matched with at least one of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer,
A is a divalent cation of plural non-magnetic elements,
an element having the largest ionic radius among elements included in the divalent cation of the non-magnetic element is included in a proportion of 12.5% to 90% in the divalent cation, and
B is an aluminum ion.

15. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 14 , wherein a volume ratio of the lattice-matched portion with respect to a volume of the entire tunnel barrier layer is 65% to 95%.

16. A magnetoresistance effect element comprising:
a first ferromagnetic metal layer;
a second ferromagnetic metal layer; and
a tunnel barrier layer that is sandwiched between the first and second ferromagnetic metal layers,
wherein the tunnel barrier layer is expressed by a composition formula of AB 2 O x (0<x≤4),
the tunnel barrier layer has a lattice-matched portion that is lattice-matched with both of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer, and a lattice-mismatched portion that is not lattice-matched with at least one of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer,
the tunnel barrier layer has a spinel structure in which cations are arranged in a disordered manner,
A in the composition formula includes a cation of plural non-magnetic elements, and
B is an aluminum ion.

17. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 16 , wherein a volume ratio of the lattice-matched portion with respect to a volume of the entire tunnel barrier layer is 65% to 95%.

Assignees

• Tdk Corp

Inventors

• Sasaki Tomoyuki

Classifications

• G01R33/09

  Magnetoresistive devices · CPC title

• H01F10/14

  containing iron or nickel ({H01F10/126} , H01F10/13, H01F10/16 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01R33/098

  comprising tunnel junctions, e.g. tunnel magnetoresistance sensors · CPC title

• H01F10/16

  containing cobalt ({H01F10/126} , H01F10/13 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01F10/26

  characterised by the substrate or intermediate layers {(H01F10/06 and H01F10/32 take precedence)} · CPC title