No Arabic abstract
We study the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) effect and magnetocrystalline anisotropy in a series of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with $L1_1$-ordered fcc ferromagnetic alloys and MgO barrier along the [111] direction. Considering the (111)-oriented MTJs with different $L1_1$ alloys, we calculate their TMR ratios and magnetocrystalline anisotropies on the basis of the first-principles calculations. The analysis shows that the MTJs with Co-based alloys (CoNi, CoPt, and CoPd) have high TMR ratios over 2000$%$. These MTJs have energetically favored Co-O interfaces where interfacial antibonding between Co $d$ and O $p$ states is formed around the Fermi level. We find that the resonant tunneling of the antibonding states, called the interface resonant tunneling, is the origin of the obtained high TMR ratios. Our calculation of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy shows that many $L1_1$ alloys have large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). In particular, CoPt has the largest value of anisotropy energy $K_{rm u} approx 10,{rm MJ/m^3}$. We further conduct a perturbation analysis of the PMA with respect to the spin-orbit interaction and reveal that the large PMA in CoPt and CoNi mainly originates from spin-conserving perturbation processes around the Fermi level.
Using first-principles calculations, we elucidate microscopic mechanisms of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA)in Fe/MgO magnetic tunnel junctions through evaluation of orbital and layer resolved contributions into the total anisotropy value. It is demonstrated that the origin of the large PMA values is far beyond simply considering the hybridization between Fe-3d$ and O-2p orbitals at the interface between the metal and the insulator. On-site projected analysis show that the anisotropy energy is not localized at the interface but it rather propagates into the bulk showing an attenuating oscillatory behavior which depends on orbital character of contributing states and interfacial conditions. Furthermore, it is found in most situations that states with $d_{yz(xz)}$ and $d_{z^2}$ character tend always to maintain the PMA while those with $d_{xy}$ and $d_{x^2-y^2}$ character tend to favor the in-plane anisotropy. It is also found that while MgO thickness has no influence on PMA, the calculated perpendicular magnetic anisotropy oscillates as a function of Fe thickness with a period of 2ML and reaches a maximum value of 3.6 mJ/m$^2$.
The magnetic tunnel junction is a cornerstone of spintronic devices and circuits, providing the main way to convert between magnetic and electrical information. In state-of-the-art magnetic tunnel junctions, magnesium oxide is used as the tunnel barrier between magnetic electrodes, providing a uniquely large tunnel magnetoresistance at room temperature. However, the wide bandgap and band alignment of magnesium oxide-iron systems increases the resistance-area product and causes challenges of device-to-device variability and tunnel barrier degradation under high current. Here, we study using first principles narrower-bandgap scandium nitride tunneling properties and transport in magnetic tunnel junctions in comparison to magnesium oxide. These simulations demonstrate a high tunnel magnetoresistance in Fe/ScN/Fe MTJs via {Delta}_1 and {Delta}_2 symmetry filtering with low wavefunction decay rates, allowing a low resistance-area product. The results show that scandium nitride could be a new tunnel barrier material for magnetic tunnel junction devices to overcome variability and current-injection challenges.
In 5d transition metal oxides, novel properties arise from the interplay of electron correlations and spin--orbit interactions. Na4IrO4, where 5d transition-metal Ir atom occupies the center of the square-planar coordination environment, is synthesized. Based on density functional theory, we calculate its electronic and magnetic properties. Our numerical results show that the Ir-5d bands are quite narrow, and the bands around the Fermi level are mainly contributed by d_{xy},d_{yz} and d_{zx} orbitals. The magnetic easy-axis is perpendicular to the IrO4 plane, and the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) of Na4IrO4 is found to be very giant. We estimate the magnetic parameters by mapping the calculated total energy for different spin configurations onto a spin model. The next nearest neighbor exchange interaction J2 is much larger than other intersite exchange interactions and results in the magnetic ground state configuration. Our study clearly demonstrates that the huge MAE comes from the single-ion anisotropy rather than the anisotropic interatomic spin exchange. This compound has a large spin gap but very narrow spin-wave dispersion, due to the large single-ion anisotropy and relatively small exchange couplings. Noticing this remarkable magnetic feature originated from its highly isolated IrO4 moiety, we also explore the possiblity to further enhance the MAE.
Using first-principles calculations, we investigated the impact of chromium (Cr) and vanadium (V) impurities on the magnetic anisotropy and spin polarization in Fe/MgO magnetic tunnel junctions. It is demonstrated using layer resolved anisotropy calculation technique, that while the impurity near the interface has a drastic effect in decreasing the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), its position within the bulk allows maintaining high surface PMA. Moreover, the effective magnetic anisotropy has a strong tendency to go from in-plane to out-of-plane character as a function of Cr and V concentration favoring out-of-plane magnetization direction for ~1.5 nm thick Fe layers at impurity concentrations above 20 %. At the same time, spin polarization is not affected and even enhanced in most situations favoring an increase of tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) values.
A characteristic dependence of voltage control of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) on oxygen migration at Fe/MgO interfaces was revealed by performing systematic {it ab initio} study of the energetics of the oxygen path around the interface. We find that the surface anisotropy energy exhibits a Boltzmann sigmoidal behavior as a function of the migrated O-atoms concentration. The obtained variation of the VCMA efficiency factor $beta$ reveals a saturation limit beyond a critical concentration of migrated O, about $54%$, at which the anisotropy switches from perpendicular to in plane. Furthermore, depending on the range of variation of the applied voltage, two regimes associated with reversible or irreversible ions displacement are predicted to occur, yielding different VCMA response. According to our findings, one can distinguish from the order of magnitude of $beta$ the VCMA driving mechanism: an effect of several tens of fJ/(V.m) is likely associated to charge-mediated effect combined with slight reversible oxygen displacements whereas an effect of the order of thousands of fJ/(V.m) is more likely associated with irreversible oxygen ionic migration.