Reconfiguration of a Magnetic Tunnel Junction as a Way to Turn It into a Field-Free Vortex Oscillator

TL;DR

This paper introduces a reversible reconfiguration method for magnetic tunnel junctions that enables vortex oscillations without external magnetic fields, advancing spintronic neuromorphic computing.

Contribution

It presents a novel mechanism to reconfigure the reference layer in MTJs, allowing vortex states and stable vortex oscillations in the free layer without external fields.

Findings

Reconfigurable MTJs exhibit vortex states with different core positions.

Vortex oscillations are stable even without external magnetic fields.

Memory effects influence vortex polarization and symmetry breaking.

Abstract

Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are key elements in practical spintronics, enabling not only conventional tasks such as data storage, transmission, and processing but also the implementation of compute-in-memory processing elements, facilitating the development of efficient hardware for neuromorphic computing. The functionality of an MTJ is determined by the properties of its free layer (FL) and reference layer (RL) with fixed magnetization, separated by an MgO tunnel barrier. This paper presents a mechanism for reconfiguring the RL, which is the upper layer of a pinned synthetic antiferromagnet, enabling a reversible transition from a single-domain state to a vortex magnetic state with different core positions. When the RL is in the vortex state, it generates a spin current with a vortex-like polarization distribution, enabling stable vortex oscillations in the FL even in the absence of external magnetic fields. This effect has been confirmed in MTJs with diameters ranging from 400 to 1000 nm. It is demonstrated, using experimental data with comparative micromagnetic simulation, that the pinning antiferromagnet retains a long term memory of previous reannealing states resulting in a deformation of the vortex polarised spin current, which in turn introduces a strong dynamical vortex core polarity symmetry breaking. The analogue reprogrammable nature of both the static and dynamic properties of the MTJ demonstrate different possible routes for the introduction of non-volatility into radiofrequency spintronic neuromorphic paradigms.