Electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9865799-B2
Application number	US-201615299376-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 20, 2016
Priority date	Dec 30, 2015
Publication date	Jan 9, 2018
Grant date	Jan 9, 2018

Abstract

Provided is an electronic device including a semiconductor memory. The semiconductor memory may include: a pinned layer having a pinned magnetization direction; a free layer having a changeable magnetization direction; a tunnel barrier layer interposed between the pinned layer and the free layer, and including a metal oxide; and a carbon-based compound patch positioned at one or more of between the pinned layer and the tunnel barrier layer, between the free layer and the tunnel barrier layer, and in the tunnel barrier layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising a semiconductor memory,
wherein the semiconductor memory comprises:
a pinned layer having a pinned magnetization direction;
a free layer having a changeable magnetization direction;
a tunnel barrier layer interposed between the pinned layer and the free layer, and including a metal oxide; and
a carbon-based compound patch positioned between the pinned layer and the tunnel barrier layer, between the free layer and the tunnel barrier layer, or in the tunnel barrier layer, and
wherein the carbon-based compound patch comprises a graphene, a graphite oxide or a fullerene.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the tunnel barrier layer has a band gap which is adjusted according to a contact area of the carbon-based compound patch with respect to the tunnel barrier layer.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein electron tunneling through the tunnel barrier layer occurs in a region where the carbon-based compound patch exists.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein when the pinned layer or the free layer has a multilayer structure, a layer of the multilayer structure, which is in contact with the tunnel barrier layer, comprises a ferromagnetic material.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the tunnel barrier layer and at least a part of the free layer are in direct contact with each other, and
the tunnel barrier layer and at least a part of the pinned layer are in direct contact with each other.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor memory further comprises a bottom layer to improve the perpendicular magnetic crystalline anisotropy of a layer which is arranged under the MTJ structure and positioned over the bottom layer.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor memory further comprises a magnetic correction layer to reduce the influence of a stray field generated by the pinned layer.

8. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a processor which includes:
a core unit configured to perform, based on a command inputted from an outside of the processor, an operation corresponding to the command, by using data;
a cache memory unit configured to store data for performing the operation, data corresponding to a result of performing the operation, or an address of data for which the operation is performed; and
a bus interface connected between the core unit and the cache memory unit, and configured to transmit data between the core unit and the cache memory unit,
wherein the semiconductor memory is part of the cache memory unit in the processor.

9. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a data storage system which includes:
a storage device configured to store data and conserve stored data regardless of power supply;
a controller configured to control input and output of data to and from the storage device according to a command inputted form an outside;
a temporary storage device configured to temporarily store data exchanged between the storage device and the outside; and
an interface configured to perform communication between at least one of the storage device, the controller and the temporary storage device and the outside,
wherein the semiconductor memory is part of the storage device or the temporary storage device in the data storage system.

10. An electronic device comprising a semiconductor memory,
wherein the semiconductor memory comprises:
a pinned layer having a pinned magnetization direction;
a free layer having a changeable magnetization direction;
a tunnel barrier layer interposed between the pinned layer and the free layer, and including a metal oxide; and
a carbon-based compound patch positioned between the pinned layer and the tunnel barrier layer, between the free layer and the tunnel barrier layer, or in the tunnel barrier layer, and wherein the tunnel barrier layer comprises ZnO, and the carbon-based compound patch comprises a graphene.

11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein a contact area of the carbon-based compound patch with respect to the tunnel barrier layer corresponds to 10% of the area of the tunnel barrier layer.

12. An electronic device comprising a semiconductor memory,
wherein the semiconductor memory comprises:
a first magnetic layer;
a second magnetic layer; and
a material layer that is interposed between the first and second magnetic layers, and that includes a graphene, a graphite oxide or a fullerene to effectuate a coupling of metal-oxygen-carbon.

13. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein when a voltage or current applied across the first and second magnetic layers is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value, electron tunneling occurs through the material layer, and
when the voltage or current applied across the first and second magnetic layers is less than the predetermined threshold value, the material layer functions as an insulating material.

14. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the content of carbon in the material layer is smaller than the content of metal and oxygen.

15. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the carbon of the material layer is positioned at the interface between the first magnetic layer and the material layer or the interface between the second magnetic layer and the material layer.

16. An electronic device comprising a semiconductor memory of a plurality of memory cells, each memory cell including a resistance variable element that includes:
a pinned layer having a pinned magnetization direction;
a free layer having a changeable magnetization direction;
a tunnel barrier layer interposed between the pinned layer and the free layer; and
carbon-based compound patches distributed in the tunnel barrier layer, and
wherein the carbon-based compound patch comprises a graphene, a graphite oxide or a fullerene.

17. The device as in claim 16 , wherein the carbon-based compound patches are distributed so that one or more carbon-based compound patches are at least in part within the tunnel barrier layer.

18. The device as in claim 16 , wherein the carbon-based compound patches are distributed so that one or more carbon-based compound patches are completely within the tunnel barrier layer.

19. The device as in claim 16 , wherein the carbon-based compound patches are distributed so that one or more carbon-based compound patches are at an interface between the free layer and the tunnel barrier layer or an interface between the pinned layer and the tunnel barrier layer.

Assignees

• Sk Hynix Inc

Inventors

• Kim Jeong-Myeong
• Kim June-Seo
• Lim Jong-Koo
• Moon Jung-Hwan
• Yoon Sung-Joon

Classifications

• G06F13/4282 Primary

  on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus (on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247) · CPC title

• H01L43/02 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G06F12/0802

  Addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means, e.g. caches · CPC title

• G06F2212/60

  Details of cache memory · CPC title

• H01L43/08

  Electricity · mapped topic