A tunnel magnetoresistance effect (TMR) device includes an exchange coupling film having a first ferromagnetic layer, which is at least a portion of a fixed magnetic layer, and an antiferromagnetic layer laminated on the first ferromagnetic layer. The ferromagnetic layer includes an X(Cr—Mn) layer containing one or two or more elements X selected from the group consisting of the platinum group elements and Ni, and also containing Mn and Cr. The X(Cr—Mn) layer has a first region relatively near the first ferromagnetic layer, and a second region relatively far away from the first ferromagnetic layer, and the content of Mn in the first region is higher than that in the second region.

An apparatus is provided which comprises: a magnetic junction including: a first structure comprising a magnet with an unfixed perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) relative to an x-y plane of a device; a second structure comprising one of a dielectric or metal; 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; a fourth structure comprising an antiferromagnetic (AFM) material, the fourth structure adjacent to the third structure; a fifth structure comprising a magnet with PMA, the fifth structure adjacent to the fourth structure; and an interconnect adjacent to the first structure, the interconnect comprising spin orbit material.

A magnetoresistive memory cell includes an MTJ element including a magnetization free layer and a pure spin injection source. The pure spin injection source includes a BiSb layer coupled to the magnetization free layer. By flowing an in-plane current through the BiSb layer, this arrangement is capable of providing magnetization reversal of the magnetization free layer.

A perpendicular spin orbit torque (SOT) memory device includes an electrode having a spin orbit coupling material and a perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction (pMTJ) device on a portion of the electrode. The pMTJ device includes a free magnet, a fixed magnet and a tunnel barrier layer in between, where at least one of the fixed magnet or the free magnet includes two magnetic layers and a spacer layer comprising tungsten in between.

The present disclosure is drawn to, among other things, a magnetoresistive device and a magnetoresistive memory comprising a plurality of such magnetoresistive devices. In some aspects, a magnetoresistive device may include a magnetically fixed region, a magnetically free region above or below the magnetically fixed region, and an intermediate region positioned between the magnetically fixed region and the magnetically free region, wherein the intermediate region includes a first dielectric material. The magnetoresistive device may also include encapsulation layers formed on opposing side walls of the magnetically free region, wherein the encapsulation layers include the first dielectric material.

A MRAM device includes a magnetic tunnel junction containing a reference layer having a fixed magnetization direction, a free layer, and a nonmagnetic tunnel barrier layer located between the reference layer and the free layer, a negative-magnetic-anisotropy assist layer having negative magnetic anisotropy that provides an in-plane magnetization within a plane that is perpendicular to the fixed magnetization direction, and a first nonmagnetic spacer layer located between the free layer and the negative-magnetic-anisotropy assist layer.

A method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes the steps of forming a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) on a MRAM region of a substrate, forming a first inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer around the MTJ, forming a patterned mask on a logic region of the substrate, performing a nitridation process to transform part of the first IMD layer to a nitride layer, forming a first metal interconnection on the logic region, forming a stop layer on the first IMD layer, forming a second IMD layer on the stop layer, and forming a second metal intercom in the second IMD layer to connect to the MTJ.

According to one embodiment, a magnetoresistive memory device includes: a first conductor; a layer stack; an insulator on a side surface of the layer stack; a second conductor on a second surface of the layer stack; a third conductor; and a fourth conductor on the third conductor. The layer stack includes a first ferromagnetic layer, a second ferromagnetic layer, and an insulating layer between the first ferromagnetic layer and the second ferromagnetic layer and has a first surface in contact with the first conductor. The second surface is at an opposite side of the first surface. The third conductor has a portion on the second conductor and a portion on a side surface of the insulator.

In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device including a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) cell, a first layer made of a conductive material is formed over a substrate. A second layer for a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) stack is formed over the first conductive layer. A third layer is formed over the second layer. A first hard mask pattern is formed by patterning the third layer. The MTJ stack is formed by patterning the second layer by an etching operation using the first hard mask pattern as an etching mask. The etching operation stops at the first layer. A sidewall insulating layer is formed over the MTJ stack. After the sidewall insulating layer is formed, a bottom electrode is formed by patterning the first layer to form the MRAM cell including the bottom electrode, the MTj stack and the first hard mask pattern as an upper electrode.

A magnetic memory device may include a substrate including a first region and a second region, a first interlayer insulating layer on the substrate, a first capping layer on the first interlayer insulating layer, the first capping layer covering the first and second regions of the substrate, a second interlayer insulating layer on a portion of the first capping layer covering the first region of the substrate, a bottom electrode contact included in the second interlayer insulating layer, a magnetic tunnel junction pattern on the bottom electrode contact, and a second capping layer on the second interlayer insulating layer, the second capping layer being in contact with the first capping layer on the second region of the substrate.