Published in

American Physical Society, Physical review B, 21(90), 2014

DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.90.214406

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Spectroscopic and transport studies ofCoxFe1−x/MgO(001)-based magnetic tunnel junctions

Journal article published in 2014 by S. Andrieu, L. Calmels, T. Hauet, F. Bonell, P. Le Fèvre, F. Bertran ORCID
This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Published version: archiving allowed
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Fe1−xCox epitaxial layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy and controlled using in situ characterization tools (electron diffraction, x-ray photoelectron, and Auger spectroscopies) in order to use these alloys in magnetic tunnel junctions. Thick films are shown to be BCC up to x = 70%, whereas thin films grown on Fe(001) are BCC over the whole Co concentration range up to a critical thickness. Fe/Co intermixing is also examined in detail. The tunnel magnetoresistance and conductance of MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions built with BCC Fe1−xCox electrodes show peculiar voltage dependencies. Their interpretation relies on spin- and symmetry-resolved photoemission measurements and ab initio calculations. The bulk and interfacial occupied states detected by photoemission are compared to the calculated ones. Experimental results and ab initio calculations are in good agreement. Finally, the experimental conductance curves are compared to the autoconvolution of the �1 density of states in which both bulk and interface states are taken into account.