Resonant TMR inversion in LiF/EuS based spin-filter tunnel junctions

Fen Liu; Yihang Yang; Qian Xue; Zhiwei Gao; Aixi Chen; Guo-Xing Miao

doi:10.1063/1.4960837

AIP Advances (Aug 2016)

Resonant TMR inversion in LiF/EuS based spin-filter tunnel junctions

Fen Liu,
Yihang Yang,
Qian Xue,
Zhiwei Gao,
Aixi Chen,
Guo-Xing Miao

Affiliations

Fen Liu: East China Jiaotong University, Department of Science, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330013, PR China
Yihang Yang: Institute for Quantum Computing & Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 Canada
Qian Xue: Institute for Quantum Computing & Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 Canada
Zhiwei Gao: Institute for Quantum Computing & Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 Canada
Aixi Chen: East China Jiaotong University, Department of Science, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330013, PR China
Guo-Xing Miao: Institute for Quantum Computing & Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 Canada

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4960837
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 6, no. 8
pp. 085004 – 085004-5

Abstract

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Resonant tunneling can lead to inverse tunnel magnetoresistance when impurity levels rather than direct tunneling dominate the transport process. We fabricated hybrid magnetic tunnel junctions of CoFe/LiF/EuS/Ti, with an epitaxial LiF energy barrier joined with a polycrystalline EuS spin-filter barrier. Due to the water solubility of LiF, the devices were fully packaged in situ. The devices showed sizeable positive TMR up to 16% at low bias voltages but clearly inverted TMR at higher bias voltages. The TMR inversion depends sensitively on the thickness of LiF, and the tendency of inversion disappears when LiF gets thick enough and recovers its intrinsic properties.

Published in AIP Advances

ISSN: 2158-3226 (Online)
Publisher: AIP Publishing LLC
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Physics
Website: http://aipadvances.aip.org/

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