Relaxation phenomena in current-induced switching in thin magnetic tunnel junctions

• Tipo: Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional
• Data: 2005

Autores

Ventura, João Oliveira Oliveira (Autor) Outra; Araújo, João Pedro (Autor) FCUP; Carpinteiro, F. C. (Autor) Outra; Sousa, João Bessa (Autor) FCUP; Liu, Yaowen (Autor) Outra; Zhang, Zongzhi (Autor) Outra; Freitas, P. P. P Peixeiro (Autor) Outra

Revista

Título: Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials

Vol. 290

Páginas: 1067-1070

ISSN: 0304-8853

Editora: Elsevier

Indexação

ISI Web of Knowledge - 3 Citações

Scopus - 3 Citações

Outras Informações

ID Authenticus: P-000-42A

DOI: 10.1016/j.jmmm.2004.11.460

Abstract (EN): Recently, reversible resistance (R) changes were observed in thin tunnel junctions (TJ) when a critical electrical current was applied. These changes are called current-induced switching (CIS) and are attributed to electromigration in nanoconstrictions in the insulating barrier. Here, we study the CIS effect on a thin TJ prepared by IBD, displaying a 3.4% R change when a CIS cycle is performed at room temperature. After complete (or half) CIS cycles with adequate maximum currents, we monitored R as a function of time. In both cases a non-monotonic relaxation occurs with two distinct relaxation times, τ(1) ∼ 10min, τ(2) ∼ 10(2) min. First R increases (decreases) rapidly, but then a slow relaxation dominates, reducing (increasing) R. These opposite relaxation processes suggest two independent physical mechanisms acting simultaneously inside the TJ. The physical origin of these effects is discussed.

Idioma: Inglês

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica

Nº de páginas: 4