Storage element, storage apparatus, and magnetic head

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9343657-B2
Application number	US-201314429230-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 9, 2013
Priority date	Sep 28, 2012
Publication date	May 17, 2016
Grant date	May 17, 2016

Abstract

There is provided a storage element including a layered construction including a storage layer that has magnetization perpendicular to a surface of the storage layer and whose direction of magnetization is changed corresponding to information, a pinned magnetization layer that has magnetization perpendicular to a surface of the pinned magnetization layer and serves as a standard for information stored in the storage layer, and an insulating layer that is composed of a non-magnetic material and is provided between the storage layer and the pinned magnetization layer.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A storage element comprising:
a layered construction including
a storage layer that has magnetization perpendicular to a surface of the storage layer and whose direction of magnetization is changed corresponding to information,
a pinned magnetization layer that has magnetization perpendicular to a surface of the pinned magnetization layer and serves as a standard for information stored in the storage layer, and
an insulating layer that is composed of a non-magnetic material and is provided between the storage layer and the pinned magnetization layer,
wherein recording of information in the storage layer is carried out by changing the direction of magnetization of the storage layer by injecting spin-polarized electrons in a laminating direction of the layered construction,
wherein the pinned magnetization layer has a laminated ferri-pinned construction composed of at least two ferromagnetic layers and a non-magnetic layer,
wherein a magnetic material in the pinned magnetization layer that contacts the insulating layer includes a CoFeB magnetic layer, and
wherein a magnetic material in the pinned magnetization layer that does not contact the insulating layer is one of an alloy and a laminated structure using at least one type of each of a Pt group metal element and a ferromagnetic 3d transition metal element that is a ferromagnetic element out of 3d transition metal elements, and an atomic concentration of the Pt group metal element is lower than an atomic concentration of the ferromagnetic 3d transition metal element.

2. The storage element according to claim 1 ,
wherein in the magnetic material that uses the at least one type of each of the Pt group metal element and the ferromagnetic 3d transition metal element, the atomic concentration of the Pt group metal element is 40% or below.

3. The storage element according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least one of Pt and Pd is used as the Pt group metal element.

4. The storage element according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least one of Co and Fe is used as the ferromagnetic 3d transition metal element.

5. The storage element according to claim 1 ,
wherein both an upper surface and a lower surface of the non-magnetic layer in the pinned magnetization layer contact the magnetic material that uses the at least one type of each of the Pt group metal element and the ferromagnetic 3d transition metal element.

6. A storage apparatus comprising:
a storage element configured to hold information using a magnetization state of a magnetic material; and
two types of wires that intersect with each other,
wherein the storage element has a layered construction including
a storage layer that has magnetization perpendicular to a surface of the storage layer and whose direction of magnetization is changed corresponding to information,
a pinned magnetization layer that has magnetization perpendicular to a surface of the pinned magnetization layer and serves as a standard for information stored in the storage layer, and
an insulating layer that is composed of a non-magnetic material and is provided between the storage layer and the pinned magnetization layer,
wherein recording of information in the storage layer is carried out by changing the direction of magnetization of the storage layer by injecting spin-polarized electrons in a laminating direction of the layered construction,
wherein the pinned magnetization layer has a laminated ferri-pinned construction composed of at least two ferromagnetic layers and a non-magnetic layer,
wherein a magnetic material in the pinned magnetization layer that contacts the insulating layer includes a CoFeB magnetic layer, and
wherein a magnetic material in the pinned magnetization layer that does not contact the insulating layer is one of an alloy and a laminated structure using at least one type of each of a Pt group metal element and a ferromagnetic 3d transition metal element that is a ferromagnetic element out of 3d transition metal elements, and an atomic concentration of the Pt group metal element is lower than an atomic concentration of the ferromagnetic 3d transition metal element,
wherein the storage element is disposed between the two types of wires, and
wherein, via the two types of wires, a current in the laminating direction flows in the storage element and the spin-polarized electrons are injected.

7. A magnetic head comprising:
a layered construction including
a storage layer that has magnetization perpendicular to a surface of the storage layer and whose direction of magnetization is changed corresponding to information,
a pinned magnetization layer that has magnetization perpendicular to a surface of the pinned magnetization layer and serves as a standard for information stored in the storage layer, and
an insulating layer that is composed of a non-magnetic material and is provided between the storage layer and the pinned magnetization layer,
wherein the pinned magnetization layer has a laminated ferri-pinned construction composed of at least two ferromagnetic layers and a non-magnetic layer,
wherein a magnetic material in the pinned magnetization layer that contacts the insulating layer includes a CoFeB magnetic layer, and
wherein a magnetic material in the pinned magnetization layer that does not contact the insulating layer is one of an alloy and a laminated structure using at least one type of each of a Pt group metal element and a ferromagnetic 3d transition metal element that is a ferromagnetic element out of 3d transition metal elements, and an atomic concentration of the Pt group metal element is lower than an atomic concentration of the ferromagnetic 3d transition metal element.

8. The storage element according to claim 1 ,
wherein the insulating layer includes magnesium oxide (MgO).

9. The storage element according to claim 8 ,
wherein a thickness of the insulating layer is no more than 1.5 nm.

10. The storage element according to claim 1 ,
wherein the magnetic material in the pinned magnetization layer that does not contact the insulating layer includes CoPt.

11. The storage element according to claim 10 ,
wherein a thickness of the magnetic material including CoPt is 2 nm.

Assignees

• Sony Corp

Inventors

• Yamane Kazutaka
• Hosomi Masanori
• Ohmori Hiroyuki
• Bessho Kazuhiro
• Higo Yutaka
• Asayama Tetsuya
• Uchida Hiroyuki

Classifications

• H10W20/43

  Layouts of interconnections · CPC title

• G11B5/3146 Primary

  magnetic layers · CPC title

• H01F10/329

  Spin-exchange coupled multilayers wherein the magnetisation of the free layer is switched by a spin-polarised current, e.g. spin torque effect · CPC title

• H01F10/3272

  by use of anti-parallel coupled [APC] ferromagnetic layers, e.g. artificial ferrimagnets [AFI], artificial [AAF] or synthetic [SAF] anti-ferromagnets · CPC title

• H01F10/123

  having a L10 crystallographic structure, e.g. [Co,Fe][Pt,Pd] thin films · CPC title