Current manipulation of Giant tunneling altermagnetic resistance in collinear Antiferromagnetic RuO2/MgO/RuO2 sandwich structure

TL;DR

This paper reports a novel room-temperature antiferromagnetic tunnel junction with a TAR ratio exceeding 200%, achieved by manipulating the Neel vector in RuO2 using ultralow current densities, advancing non-volatile memory technology.

Contribution

It introduces a new antiferromagnetic tunnel junction that operates at room temperature without net magnetic moment, demonstrating high TAR ratio and low current control.

Findings

Achieved over 200% TAR ratio in RuO2-based junctions.

Controlled Neel vector switching with ultralow current density of 2 MA*cm-2.

Demonstrated potential for stable, high-performance antiferromagnetic memory devices.

Abstract

As an emerging non-volatile memory technology, magnetic random access memory (MRAM) has key features and advantages including non-volatility, high speed, endurance, low power consumption and radiation tolerance. Conventional MRAM utilizes magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), which consist of two ferromagnetic layers separated by an insulating tunnel barrier. The orientation of the magnetic layers represents the binary data (0 or 1), and electrical resistance changes depending on the relative orientation of these magnetic layers. Despite these advancements, the quest for a swifter, more stable magneto-resistive random-access memory paradigm persists. In this vein, we present a groundbreaking development: room-temperature antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions devoid of any net magnetic moment. Over 200% tunneling altermagnetic resistance (TAR) ratio was measured at RuO2 (110)/MgO/RuO2 (110)/W structure, which is achieved by changing the antiferromagnetic Neel vector of RuO2 with an ultralow current density 2 MA*cm-2.