Sidewall oxide effects on spin-torque- and magnetic-field-induced reversal characteristics of thin-film nanomagnets

被引：54

作者：

Ozatay, O. ^{[1
,2
]}

Gowtham, P. G. ^{[1
]}

Tan, K. W. ^{[1
]}

Read, J. C. ^{[1
]}

Mkhoyan, K. A. ^{[1
]}

Thomas, M. G. ^{[1
]}

Fuchs, G. D. ^{[1
]}

Braganca, P. M. ^{[1
]}

Ryan, E. M. ^{[1
]}

Thadani, K. V. ^{[1
]}

Silcox, J. ^{[1
]}

Ralph, D. C. ^{[1
]}

Buhrman, R. A. ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] Cornell Univ, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA

[2] Hitachi Global Storage Technol, San Jose Res Ctr, San Jose, CA 95136 USA

来源：

NATURE MATERIALS | 2008年 / 7卷 / 07期

基金：

美国国家科学基金会;

关键词：

D O I：

10.1038/nmat2204

中图分类号：

O64 [物理化学（理论化学）、化学物理学];

学科分类号：

070304 ; 081704 ;

摘要：

The successful operation of spin-based data storage devices depends on thermally stable magnetic bits. At the same time, the data-processing speeds required by today's technology necessitate ultrafast switching in storage devices. Achieving both thermal stability and fast switching requires controlling the effective damping in magnetic nanoparticles. By carrying out a surface chemical analysis, we show that through exposure to ambient oxygen during processing, a nanomagnet can develop an antiferromagnetic sidewall oxide layer that has detrimental effects, which include a reduction in the thermal stability at room temperature and anomalously high magnetic damping at low temperatures. The in situ deposition of a thin Al metal layer, oxidized to completion in air, greatly reduces or eliminates these problems. This implies that the effective damping and the thermal stability of a nanomagnet can be tuned, leading to a variety of potential applications in spintronic devices such as spin-torque oscillators and patterned media.

引用

页码：567 / 573

页数：7

共 28 条

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