Chemical ordering and large tunnel magnetoresistance in Co2FeAl/MgAl2O4/Co2FeAl(001) junctions

Epitaxial magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with a Co2FeAl/CoFe (0.5 nm)/MgAl2O4/Co2FeAl(001) structure were fabricated by magnetron sputtering. High-temperature in situ annealing led to a high degree of B2-order in the Co2FeAl layers and cation order of the MgAl2O4 barrier. Large tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of up to 342% was obtained at room temperature (616% at 4 K), in contrast to the TMR ratio (less than or similar to 160%) suppressed by the band-folding effect in Fe/cation-ordered MgAl2O4/Fe MTJs. The present study reveals that the high degree of B2-order and the resulting high spin polarization in the Co2FeAl electrodes enable us to bypass the band-folding problem in spinel barriers. (C) 2016 The Japan Society of Applied Physics