Influence of interfacial oxygen on single-crystal magnetic tunnel junctions

Frédéric Bonell (1) , Stéphane Andrieu (1) , Alexandre Bataille (1) , Coriolan Tiusan (1) , Bertrand Kierren (1) , Gwladys Lengaigne (1) , Daniel Lacour (1)

1 LPM - Laboratoire de physique des matériaux

The influence of adsorbed oxygen at the first interface of single-crystal Fe(001)/MgO(001)/Fe(001) magnetic tunnel junctions is investigated. Firstly, the adsorption kinetics of O2 on the Fe(001) surface is studied in the monolayer regime by X-ray photoelectrons spectroscopy and scanning tunnelling microscopy experiments. We show that different species exist at the oxidized surface. The tunnel magneto-resistance of oxygen-doped magnetic tunnel junctions is found to decrease but remains large even for oxygen coverages exceeding one monolayer.

Domaines: Physique [physics]; Matière Condensée [cond-mat]

Frédéric Bonell, Stéphane Andrieu, Alexandre Bataille, Coriolan Tiusan, Bertrand Kierren, et al.. Influence of interfacial oxygen on single-crystal magnetic tunnel junctions. European Physical Journal: Applied Physics, 2008, 43 (3), pp.357-361. ⟨10.1051/epjap:2008100⟩. ⟨hal-02949228⟩