US 12,082,509 B2
Dual magnetic tunnel junction (DMTJ) stack design
Vignesh Sundar, Fremont, CA (US); Yu-Jen Wang, San Jose, CA (US); Luc Thomas, San Jose, CA (US); Guenole Jan, San Jose, CA (US); Sahil Patel, Fremont, CA (US); and Ru-Ying Tong, Los Gatos, CA (US)
Assigned to TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed on Oct. 5, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/063,392.
Application 17/063,392 is a division of application No. 16/133,964, filed on Sep. 18, 2018, granted, now 10,797,225.
Prior Publication US 2021/0020830 A1, Jan. 21, 2021
Int. Cl. H10N 50/80 (2023.01); G11C 11/16 (2006.01); H01F 10/32 (2006.01); H01F 41/34 (2006.01); H10N 50/01 (2023.01); H10N 50/85 (2023.01)
CPC H10N 50/80 (2023.02) [G11C 11/161 (2013.01); H01F 10/3259 (2013.01); H01F 10/3286 (2013.01); H01F 10/329 (2013.01); H01F 41/34 (2013.01); H10N 50/01 (2023.02); H10N 50/85 (2023.02)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
forming a first pinned ferromagnetic layer on a substrate;
forming a first tunnel barrier layer on the first pinned ferromagnetic layer, the first tunnel barrier layer having a first resistance x area product (RA1);
forming a free layer that contacts a top surface of the first tunnel barrier layer;
forming a second tunnel barrier layer that adjoins a top surface of the free layer, the second tunnel barrier layer having a second resistance x area product (RA2) that is greater than RA1;
forming a second pinned ferromagnetic layer on the second tunnel barrier layer;
forming a metal oxide or metal oxynitride capping layer that contacts a top surface of the second pinned ferromagnetic layer, and having a resistance x area product (RACAP) that is less than RA2, wherein the metal oxide or metal oxynitride capping layer comprises a plurality of conductive channels in a metal oxide or metal oxynitride matrix in which the conductive channels extend from a top surface of the free layer to a bottom surface of an overlying hard mask; and
performing an initialization process wherein a magnetization of the first pinned ferromagnetic layer is aligned antiparallel to a magnetization of the second pinned ferromagnetic layer, and a magnetization of the free layer, the magnetization of the first pinned ferromagnetic layer and the magnetization of the second pinned ferromagnetic layer are aligned orthogonal to the substrate.