Spin-orbit torque magnetic random access memory and method of writing the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9666256-B1
Application number	US-201615374606-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Dec 9, 2016
Priority date	Mar 15, 2016
Publication date	May 30, 2017
Grant date	May 30, 2017

Abstract

An SOT-MRAM comprises a substrate, and an SOT memory cell disposed on the substrate and including a magnetic free layer. The magnetic free layer includes a first metal film exhibiting ferromagnetic characteristics, and a second metal film for generating a spin-Hall effect. The first metal film has a thickness sufficient to allow the magnetic free layer, after being applied with a first external magnetic field which is subsequently removed, to have a magnetization ratio ranging from −0.9 to 0.9. The first metal film, upon being applied with a second external magnetic field and an electric pulse, has multiple magnetic domains when a current density resulting from the electric pulse is greater than a critical value.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A spin-orbit torque magnetic random access memory (SOT-MRAM), comprising:
a substrate; and
an SOT memory cell disposed on said substrate and including a magnetic free layer, said magnetic free layer including a first metal film exhibiting ferromagnetic characteristics, and a second metal film contacting said first metal film for generating a spin-Hall effect,
wherein said first metal film has a thickness sufficient to allow said magnetic free layer, after being applied with a first external magnetic field which is subsequently removed, to have a remanent-to-saturated magnetization ratio ranging from −0.9 to 0.9,
wherein said first metal film, upon being applied with a second external magnetic field and an electric pulse, has multiple magnetic domains when a current density resulting from said electric pulse is greater than a critical value, said magnetic free layer having a magnetic switching behavior when the current density reaches the critical value,
wherein said second external magnetic field is provided in a direction identical to said first external magnetic field and less in magnitude than said first external magnetic field.

2. The SOT-MRAM of claim 1 , wherein said magnetic free layer exhibits saturated magnetization when the current density reaches the critical value.

3. The SOT-MRAM of claim 1 , wherein:
said first metal film includes a first metal selected from the group consisting of Co, Fe, Ni and combinations thereof;
said second metal film is made of one of a second metal, and a third metal doped with a fourth metal;
said second metal is selected from the group consisting of Pd, Pt, Ta, Mo, and W;
said third metal is selected from the group consisting of Cu, Pt, W and combinations thereof; and
said fourth metal is selected from the group consisting of Ir, Pt, W, Bi, and combinations thereof.

4. The SOT-MRAM of claim 3 , wherein said first metal film includes Co, said second metal film is made of Pt, and said magnetic free layer has a (Pt/Co) 2 /X multi layered structure stacked on said substrate, where X is said second metal.

5. The SOT-MRAM of claim 4 , wherein X is Pt.

6. The SOT-MRAM of claim 5 , wherein a thickness ratio of said first metal film to said second metal film ranges from 0.05 to 1.0.

7. The SOT-MRAM of claim 1 , wherein:
said first metal film includes Co, Fe and B;
said second metal film is made of Pd; and
said magnetic free layer further includes an insulating film in contact with said first metal film.

8. The SOT-MRAM of claim 7 , wherein a thickness ratio of said first metal film to said second metal film ranges from 0.05 to 0.1.

9. The SOT-MRAM of claim 1 , wherein said first metal film exhibits perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

10. A method for writing the SOT-MRAM of claim 1 , comprising:
applying the first external magnetic field to the magnetic free layer of the SOT memory cell and subsequently removing the first external magnetic field, such that the first metal film has a remanent-to-saturated magnetization ratio ranging from −0.9 to 0.9; and
applying the second external magnetic field and a first electric pulse to the magnetic free layer of the SOT memory cell, such that the second metal film generates a first self-spinning current via the spin-Hall effect and reverses magnetic moments of the first metal film upon a resulting current density reaching the critical value, wherein the magnetic free layer has one of positively-saturated and negatively-saturated magnetizations upon the current density reaching the critical value.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
applying a second electric pulse, which is opposite in direction to the first electric pulse, and the second external magnetic field to the magnetic free layer of the SOT memory cell, such that the second metal film generates a second self-spinning current via the spin-Hall effect and reverses the magnetic moments of the first metal film upon the current density reaching the critical value, wherein the magnetic free layer has the other one of the positively-saturated and negatively-saturated magnetizations upon the current density reaching the critical value.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein, when the current density is above the critical value, the magnetization of the magnetic free layer has negative correlation to the current density.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein, when the current density is above the critical value, the magnetization of the magnetic free layer changes continuously as the current density increases.

14. The SOT-MRAM of claim 10 , wherein a magnitude ratio of the first external magnetic field to the second external magnetic field ranges from 50:1 to 1000:1.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein said first electric pulse has a fall time sufficiently short to allow said first metal film to have the magnetic domains.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the fall time for the first electric pulse is less than 1000 ns.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein a duration time of the first electric pulse ranges from 50 ns to 1 ms.

18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first and second magnetic fields are applied along a hard axis of the first metal film.

19. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
when the current density is above the critical value, assigning one of a plurality of logic states to the SOT memory cell based on the current density.

Assignees

• Nat Univ Tsing Hua

Inventors

• Lai Chih-Huang
• Huang Kuo-Feng
• Lin Hsiu-Hau
• Wang Ding-Shuo
• Tsai Ming-Han

Classifications

• G11C11/1675

  Writing or programming circuits or methods · CPC title

• G11C11/18

  using Hall-effect devices · CPC title

• G11C11/161 Primary

  details concerning the memory cell structure, e.g. the layers of the ferromagnetic memory cell · CPC title

• H01L43/08

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L43/02

  Electricity · mapped topic