Synthetic Antiferromagnet Reversal—Role of Thermal and Magnetic Stress and Impact on Functionality of STT-MRAM

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Meike Hindenberg - , Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (Author)
  • Johannes Muller - , Global Foundries Dresden (Author)
  • Christoph Durner - , Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (Author)
  • Daniel Sanchez Hazen - , Global Foundries Dresden (Author)
  • Martin Weisheit - , Global Foundries Dresden (Author)
  • Thomas Mikolajick - , Chair of Nanoelectronics, NaMLab - Nanoelectronic materials laboratory gGmbH (Author)

Abstract

We investigate the response of magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices based on GlobalFoundries 22FDX1 embedded-magnetic random access memory (MRAM) technology to external thermal and magnetic stress. An anomalous reversal of the reference system was observed in some devices when subjected to a constant static external magnetic field at temperatures as high as 150 ∘C. The strength of the external magnetic field, ambient temperature, MTJ diameter, and composition of the synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF) reference system all affect the severity of the reference system’s instability. In this study, we show that while a SAF reversal in single-bit MTJ devices reverses the direction of their R–H hysteresis loop and so their switching field and offset field polarity, it does not significantly impact their electrical switching behavior. Furthermore, we experimentally show that the functionality of 40-Mbit MRAM arrays with a pitch of approximately 200 nm remains unaffected by the SAF configuration and consequent offset field polarity of the individual devices.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4844-4850
Number of pages7
JournalIEEE Transactions on Electron Devices
Volume72
Issue number9
Publication statusPublished - 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0003-3814-0378/work/191533443

Keywords

Keywords

  • Automotive grade, defects, magnetic random access memory (MRAM), reliability, synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF)