Abstract
Epitaxial Fe/MgO/Fe tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) structure was grown on the MgO substrate by molecular beam epitaxy, characterized in-situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction and ex-situ by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The chemical states at the Fe/MgO interface have been investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and peak decomposition technique. The results show that there is FeO formation at interface of Fe/MgO, clearly identified by the existence of Fe2+ and Fe3+ peaks at 708.2 and 710.4 eV, respectively, which locate at the high-energy side of the main metallic Fe peak. The presence of FeO layer at the Fe/MgO interface proved by XPS is likely to have considerable influence on its MR value and hence on its application in spintronics.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1935-1936 |
Number of pages | 2 |
Journal | Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials |
Volume | 310 |
Issue number | 2 SUPPL. PART 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Mar 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Interface chemical reaction
- Magnetic tunnelling junction (MTJ)
- X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics