Role of Metal-Oxide Interface in Determining the Spin Polarization of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions
- 15 October 1999
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 286 (5439), 507-509
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5439.507
Abstract
The role of the metal-oxide interface in determining the spin polarization of electrons tunneling from or into ferromagnetic transition metals in magnetic tunnel junctions is reported. The spin polarization of cobalt in tunnel junctions with an alumina barrier is positive, but it is negative when the barrier is strontium titanate or cerium lanthanite. The results are ascribed to bonding effects at the transition metal–barrier interface. The influence of the electronic structure of metal-oxide interfaces on the spin polarization raises interesting fundamental problems and opens new ways to optimize the magnetoresistance of tunnel junctions.Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- Inversion of Spin Polarization and Tunneling Magnetoresistance in Spin-Dependent Tunneling JunctionsPhysical Review Letters, 1999
- Magnetoresistance of ferromagnetic tunnel junctions with Al2O3 barriers formed by rf sputter etching in Ar/O2 plasmaApplied Physics Letters, 1998
- Switching with Hot SpinsScience, 1998
- Direct evidence for a half-metallic ferromagnetNature, 1998
- Spin-Polarized Density of States and Electron Tunnelling from the CO/Al2O3 InterfaceMRS Proceedings, 1997
- Large Magnetoresistance at Room Temperature in Ferromagnetic Thin Film Tunnel JunctionsPhysical Review Letters, 1995
- Spin-polarized electron tunnelingPhysics Reports, 1994
- Spin-Dependent Tunnelling from Transition-Metal FerromagnetsPhysical Review B, 1973
- Spin Polarization of Electrons Tunneling from Films of Fe, Co, Ni, and GdPhysical Review B, 1973
- Operating characteristics of salient-pole machinesJournal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 1953