US 11,854,589 B2
STT-SOT hybrid magnetoresistive element and manufacture thereof
Yimin Guo, San Jose, CA (US); Rongfu Xiao, Dublin, CA (US); and Jun Chen, Fremont, CA (US)
Filed by Yimin Guo, San Jose, CA (US); Rongfu Xiao, Dublin, CA (US); and Jun Chen, Fremont, CA (US)
Filed on Oct. 24, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/509,014.
Prior Publication US 2022/0044718 A1, Feb. 10, 2022
Int. Cl. G11C 11/00 (2006.01); G11C 11/16 (2006.01); G11B 5/39 (2006.01); H01F 10/32 (2006.01); H10B 61/00 (2023.01); H10N 50/10 (2023.01); H10N 50/85 (2023.01); H10N 52/01 (2023.01); H10N 52/80 (2023.01)
CPC G11C 11/161 (2013.01) [G11B 5/3909 (2013.01); G11C 11/1675 (2013.01); H01F 10/3286 (2013.01); H10B 61/22 (2023.02); H10N 50/10 (2023.02); H10N 50/85 (2023.02); H10N 52/01 (2023.02); H10N 52/80 (2023.02)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A magnetoresistive element having a sidewall-current-channel (SCC) structure and being used in a magnetic memory device, comprising:
a magnetic reference layer having a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and having an invariable magnetization direction;
a tunnel barrier layer provided on the magnetic reference layer;
a magnetic recording layer provided on the tunnel barrier layer and having a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and a variable magnetization direction;
an SOT material layer provided on the magnetic recording layer, wherein the SOT material layer comprises one or more materials that exhibit the Spin Hall Effect (SHE);
the sidewall-current-channel (SCC) structure provided on the SOT material layer, the SCC structure comprising: an insulating medium disposed at least in a central region of the SCC structure and throughout the SCC structure thickness; and a conductive medium disposed on at least one vertical side of the insulating medium and throughout the SCC structure thickness, forming a vertical sidewall channel that at least partially surrounds the insulating medium;
a protective cap layer provided on the insulating medium; and
a hard mask layer provided on the protective cap layer;
wherein the tunnel barrier layer has a first resistance-area product (RA1), the insulating medium comprises an insulating oxide or nitride material and has a second resistance-area product (RA2), the second resistance-area product (RA2) is higher than the first resistance-area product (RA1), the insulating medium comprises an electrically insulating material, the conductive medium comprises an electrically conductive material that provides electrical connection directly between the SOT material layer and the protective cap layer through the vertical sidewall channel.