Tunneling magnetoresistance in trilayer structures composed of group-IV ferromagnetic semiconductor Ge1-xFex, MgO, and Fe

TL;DR

This paper reports the first observation of tunneling magnetoresistance in Fe/MgO/GeFe magnetic tunnel junctions, revealing the role of the p-d(t2) band in spin transport, with potential for improved spintronic devices.

Contribution

First experimental demonstration of TMR in GeFe-based MTJs, clarifying the band responsible for tunneling and suggesting pathways for enhancement.

Findings

TMR ratio of 0.3% observed in GeFe MTJs

p-d(t2) band mainly responsible for tunneling transport

Potential for TMR enhancement by reducing leak current

Abstract

Group-IV-based ferromagnetic semiconductor Ge1-xFex (GeFe) is one of the most promising materials for efficient spin injectors and detectors for Si and Ge. Recent first principles calculations (Sakamoto et al., Ref. 9) suggested that the Fermi level is located in two overlapping largely spin-polarized bands formed in the bandgap of GeFe; spin-down d(e) band and spin-up p-d(t2) band. Thus, it is important to clarify how these bands contribute to spin injection and detection. In this study, we show the first successful observation of the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) containing a group-IV ferromagnetic semiconductor, that is, in MTJs composed of epitaxially grown Fe/MgO/Ge0.935Fe0.065. We find that the p-d(t2) band in GeFe is mainly responsible for the tunneling transport. Although the obtained TMR ratio is small (0.3%), the TMR ratio is expected to be enhanced by suppressing leak current through amorphous-like crystal domains observed in MgO.