As magnetoresistive stack structures are made in increasing smaller form factors, encroachment in layers of magnetoresistive stack structures may affect the energy required to write magnetic states to the stack structures. Encroachment may be observed as, e.g., an increase in switching voltage (V.sub.C) and an increase in switching voltage distribution (V.sub.C) as magnetoresistive stack size decreases, caused by differences between a peripheral portion and an inner portion of a region in a magnetoresistive stack. Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for controlling, reducing, or otherwise mitigating the effects of encroachment in magnetoresistive stacks.

The present disclosure relates to magnetic devices. In particular, the disclosure relates to magnetic memory and logic devices that employ the voltage control of magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) effect for magnetization switching. The present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a magnetic structure for such a magnetic device. The method comprising the following steps: providing a bottom electrode layer, forming a SrTiO.sub.3 (STO) stack on the bottom electrode layer by atomic layer deposition (ALD) of at least two different STO nanolaminates, forming a magnetic layer on the STO stack, and forming a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) promoting layer on the magnetic layer, the PMA promoting layer being configured to promote PMA in the magnetic layer.

A method includes: a first film formation process forming a film by sputtering a first insulator target when a projection plane of the first insulator target on a plane including a front face of a substrate is in a first state; and a second film formation process forming a film by sputtering a second insulator target when a projection plane of the second insulator target formed on the plane including the front face of the substrate is in a second state different from the first state. The second film formation process provides the insulating film having a second characteristic variation having opposite tendency to a first characteristic variation in the film provided by the first film formation process, the first characteristic variation occurring from a center portion to a peripheral portion of the substrate, the second characteristic variation occurring at least partly from the center portion to the peripheral portion.

A memory device includes a plurality of layers forming a stack. The plurality of layers include a spin polarization layer having a magnetic anisotropy approximately perpendicular to a plane of the spin polarization layer, an antiferromagnetic layer having an antiferromagnetic material, a ferromagnetic layer that is exchange coupled to the antiferromagnetic layer, where the antiferromagnetic layer is between the ferromagnetic layer and the spin polarization layer, and a storage layer having a magnetization direction that indicates a memory state of the storage layer. The memory state is switched by an amount of current through the stack. The spin polarization layer, the ferromagnetic layer, and the antiferromagnetic layer are configured to reduce the amount of current through the stack for switching the magnetization direction of the storage layer relative to an amount of current through a memory device without the spin polarization layer, the ferromagnetic layer, and the antiferromagnetic layer.

A magnetic detection circuit for a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) is provided. The magnetic detection circuit includes a sensing array including a plurality of sensing cells and a controller. Each of the sensing cells includes a first magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device. The controller is configured to access the first MRAM cells to detect the external magnetic field strength of the MRAM. The controller determines whether to stop the write operation of a plurality of memory cells of the MRAM according to the external magnetic field strength of the MRAM, and each of the memory cells includes a second MTJ device. The first MTJ device is smaller than the second MTJ device.

A magnetoresistance effect element includes first and second magnetic layers having a perpendicular magnetization direction, and a first non-magnetic layer disposed adjacent to the first magnetic layer and on a side opposite to a side on which the second magnetic layer is disposed. An interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy exists at an interface between the first magnetic layer and the first non-magnetic layer, and the anisotropy causes the first magnetic layer to have a magnetization direction perpendicular to the surface of the layers. An atomic fraction of all magnetic elements to all magnetic and non-magnetic elements included in the second magnetic layer is smaller than that of the first magnetic layer.

A synthetic antiferromagnetic layer includes a first ferromagnetic layer containing an amorphizing element, the first ferromagnetic layer having a first structural symmetry; a second ferromagnetic layer having a second structural symmetry; wherein the first and the second ferromagnetic layers are antiferromagnetically coupled by a trifunctional non-magnetic multi-layered structure, the antiferromagnetic coupling being an RKKY coupling, the non-magnetic multi-layered structure including at least two non-magnetic layers, the non-magnetic multilayered structure being at least partially nano-crystalline or amorphous in order to ensure a structural transition between the first ferromagnetic layer having the first structural symmetry and the second ferromagnetic layer having the second structural symmetry, the non-magnetic multilayered structure being adapted to absorb at least part of the amorphizing element out of the first ferromagnetic layer in contact with the non-magnetic multi-layered structure.

Described is an apparatus which comprises: a heat spreading layer; a first transition metal layer adjacent to the heat spreading layer; and a magnetic recording layer adjacent to the first transition metal layer. Described is an apparatus which comprises: a first electrode; a magnetic junction having a free magnet; and one or more layers of Jahn-Teller material adjacent to the first electrode and the free magnet of the magnetic junction.

In one embodiment, a desirable (e.g., substantially 100%) SOT switching probability is achieved in a SOT device by applying in-plane input current as one or more pulses having a tuned pulse width. In the case of a single pulse, pulse width may be selected as a single tuned pulse width or a range of pulse widths that avoid a specific pulse width determined to cause a switch-back response. In the case of multiple pulses, pulse width, a time interval between pulses and other factors such as intensities may be selected to prevent a switch-back response. Further, SOT switching speed may be achieved by reducing incubation delay through modification of an external magnetic field or input current density applied to the SOT device.

A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) element is provided. The MTJ element includes a buffer layer, a seed layer disposed over the buffer layer, a first ferromagnetic layer disposed over the seed layer, a tunnel barrier layer disposed over the first ferromagnetic layer and a second ferromagnetic layer disposed over the tunnel barrier layer. The seed layer includes a Cobalt (Co)-based film. The buffer layer includes cobalt (Co) and hafnium (Hf). The buffer layer is alloyed with chromium and has chromium content up to 20 at. %. The MTJ element in accordance with the present disclosure exhibits a low resistance desired for a low-power write operation, and a high TMR coefficient desired for a low bit-error-rate (BER) read operation.