A magnetic memory device includes a reference magnetic structure, a free magnetic structure, and a tunnel barrier pattern therebetween. The reference magnetic structure includes a first pinned pattern, a second pinned pattern between the first pinned pattern and the tunnel barrier pattern, and an exchange coupling pattern between the first pinned pattern and the second pinned pattern. The second pinned pattern includes magnetic patterns and non-magnetic patterns, which are alternately stacked. The first pinned pattern is a ferromagnetic pattern consisted of a ferromagnetic element.

An apparatus is provided which comprises: a magnetic junction including: a stack of structures including: a first structure comprising a magnet with an unfixed perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) relative to an x-y plane of a device, wherein the first structure has a first dimension along the x-y plane and a second dimension in the z-plane, wherein the second dimension is substantially greater than the first dimension. The magnetic junction includes a second structure comprising one of a dielectric or metal; and a third structure comprising a magnet with fixed PMA, wherein the third structure has an anisotropy axis perpendicular to the plane of the device, and wherein the third structure is adjacent to the second structure such that the second structure is between the first and third structures; and an interconnect adjacent to the third structure, wherein the interconnect comprises a spin orbit material.

A perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction is disclosed wherein first and second interfaces of a free layer (FL) with a first metal oxide (Hk enhancing layer) and second metal oxide (tunnel barrier), respectively, produce perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) to provide thermal stability to 400° C. Insertion of an oxidation control layer (OCL) such as Mg and a magnetic moment tuning layer (MMTL) like Mo or W enables FL thickness to be reduced below 10 Angstroms while providing sufficient PMA for a switching voltage substantially less than 500 mV at a 10 ns pulse width and 1 ppm defect rate. Magnetoresistive ratio is ≥1, and resistance×area (RA) product is below 5 ohm-μm.sup.2. Embodiments are provided where MMTL and OCL materials interface with each other, or do not contact each other. Each of the MMTL and OCL materials may be deposited separately, or at least one is co-deposited with the FL.

A spin valve magnetoresistance element has an even number of free layer structures for which half has an antiferromagnetic coupling and the other half has a ferromagnetic coupling with respect to associated pinned layers. The different couplings are the result of an even number different spacer layers having respective different thicknesses.

A perpendicular spin orbit torque (SOT) memory device includes an electrode having a spin orbit torque material, where the SOT material includes iridium and manganese and a perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction (pMTJ) device on a portion of the electrode. The pMTJ device includes a free magnet structure electrode, a fixed layer and a tunnel barrier between the free layer and the fixed layer and a SAF structure above the fixed layer. The Ir—Mn SOT material and the free magnet have an in-plane magnetic exchange bias.

A storage element includes a layer structure including a storage layer having a direction of magnetization which changes according to information, a magnetization fixed layer having a fixed direction of magnetization, and an intermediate layer disposed therebetween, which intermediate layer contains a nonmagnetic material. The magnetization fixed layer has at least two ferromagnetic layers having a direction of magnetization tilted from a direction perpendicular to a film surface, which are laminated and magnetically coupled interposing a coupling layer therebetween. This configuration may effectively prevent divergence of magnetization reversal time due to directions of magnetization of the storage layer and the magnetization fixed layer being substantially parallel or antiparallel, reduce write errors, and enable writing operation in a short time.

An exchange-coupling film having a large magnetic field (Hex) at which the magnetization direction of a pinned magnetic layer is reversed, thus exhibiting high stability under high-temperature conditions, and having excellent high-magnetic-field resistance includes an antiferromagnetic layer and a pinned magnetic layer in contact with the antiferromagnetic layer. The antiferromagnetic layer has an alternating multilayer structure of three or more layers, the layers including alternately stacked X.sup.1Cr and X.sup.2Mn layers, where X.sup.1 represents one or more elements selected from the group consisting of platinum group elements and Ni, and X.sup.2 represents one or more elements selected from the group consisting of platinum group elements and Ni and may be the same as or different from X.sup.1.

In one aspect, bridge circuitry includes a first magnetoresistance (MR) element connected with a second MR element at a first node; a third MR element connected with the first MR element at a second node; a fourth MR element connected with the third MR element at a third node; a fifth MR element connected with a sixth MR element at a fourth node; a seventh MR element connected with the fifth MR element at a fifth node; and an eighth MR element connected with the seventh MR element at a sixth node; and a plurality of eight switches. Six of the plurality of eight switches are each connected to a corresponding one node.

A magnetoelectric composition of boron and chromia is provided. The boron and chromia alloy can contain boron doping of 1%-10% in place of the oxygen in the chromia. The boron-doped chromia exhibits an increased critical temperature while maintaining magnetoelectric characteristics. The composition can be fabricated by depositing chromia in the presence of borane. The boron substitutes oxygen in the chromia, enhancing the exchange energy and thereby increasing Néel temperature.

An electronic device may include a semiconductor memory, and the semiconductor memory may include a substrate; a variable resistance element formed over the substrate and exhibiting different resistance values representing different digital information, the variable resistance element including a free layer having a variable magnetization direction, a pinned layer having a fixed magnetization direction and a tunnel barrier layer interposed between the free layer and the pinned layer; and a blocking layer disposed on at least sidewalls of the variable resistance element, wherein the blocking layer may include a layer that is substantially free of nitrogen, oxygen or a combination thereof.