Zhang Yike, Sun Weideng, Cao Kaihua, Yang Xiao-Xue, Yang Yongqiang, Lu Shiyang, Du Ao, Hu Chaoqun, Feng Ce, Wang Yutong, Cai Jianwang, Cui Baoshan, Piao Hong-Guang, Zhao Weisheng, Zhao Yonggang
Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Frontier Science Center for Quantum Information, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Sci Adv. 2024 Apr 19;10(16):eadl4633. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adl4633.
Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are the core elements of spintronic devices. Now, the mainstream writing operation of MTJs mainly relies on electric current with high energy dissipation, which can be greatly reduced if an electric field is used instead. In this regard, strain-mediated multiferroic heterostructure composed of MTJ and ferroelectrics are promising with the advantages of room temperature and magnetic field-free as already demonstrated by MTJ with in-plane magnetic anisotropy. However, there is no such report on the perpendicular MTJs (p-MTJs), which have been commercialized. Here, we investigate electric-field control of resistance state of MgO-based p-MTJs in multiferroic heterostructures. A remarkable and nonvolatile manipulation of resistance is demonstrated at room temperature without magnetic field assistance. Through various characterizations and micromagnetic simulation, the manipulation mechanism is uncovered. Our work provides an effective avenue for manipulating p-MTJ resistance by electric fields and is notable for high density and ultralow power spintronic devices.
磁性隧道结（MTJs）是自旋电子器件的核心元件。目前，MTJs的主流写入操作主要依赖于具有高能量耗散的电流，如果改用电场，则能量耗散可大幅降低。在这方面，由MTJ和铁电体组成的应变介导多铁异质结构很有前景，具有室温且无磁场的优点，这已由具有面内磁各向异性的MTJ所证明。然而，对于已经商业化的垂直MTJs（p-MTJs），尚无此类报道。在此，我们研究了多铁异质结构中基于MgO的p-MTJs电阻状态的电场控制。在室温下无需磁场辅助即可实现显著且非易失性的电阻操纵。通过各种表征和微磁模拟，揭示了操纵机制。我们的工作为通过电场操纵p-MTJ电阻提供了一条有效途径，对于高密度和超低功耗自旋电子器件具有重要意义。
