Berlin 2018 – scientific programme

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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 52: Poster II

MA 52.18: Poster

Thursday, March 15, 2018, 15:00–18:00, Poster C

Material selection for spin-transfer-torque magnetic random access memories — •Emanuele Bosoni and Stefano Sanvito — School of Physics and CRANN, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland

The sensitive element in a Spin-Transfer-Torque Magnetic Random Access Memory (STT-MRAM) is formed by two ferromagnetic layers sandwiching an insulator acting as a tunnel barrier. At present the state-of-the-art materials set for the STT-MRAM technology is CoFeB/MgO, but it is not clear whether further improvement over this will be possible. Fundamental research is then needed to design new efficient junctions and, in this respect, ab-initio simulations offer a powerful tool to carry out a systematic study.

In this contribution we describe a computational strategy for the selection of promising materials for STT-MRAMs. Some peculiar material-related features are essential for the device operation and looking for these properties will lead to a pre-selection of suitable ferromagnets and insulators to be combined into efficient STT-MRAM structures. In order to accomplish this goal, we have adopted an approach based on high-throughput Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. Our guiding criterion is to appropriately match the complex band-structure of the insulator with the real one of the magnetic electrodes along directions where the growth of heterojunctions is possible. The result of such screening offers a preliminary step before carrying out more computational demanding simulations on the transport and STT properties of the junction itself.