Giant tunneling magnetoresistance in atomically thin VSi2N4/MoSi2N4/VSi2N4 magnetic tunnel junction

With rich electrical and magnetic properties and environmental stability, layered MSi2N4 (M = transition metal) has recently attracted much attention. By using a ferromagnetic VSi2N4 monolayer as an electrode and a semiconducting MoSi2N4 monolayer as a tunneling barrier, an atomically thin VSi2N4/MoSi2N4/VSi2N4 magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is theoretically proposed. Our calculated results suggest that the MTJ has a giant tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) as large as 1010% and a near perfect (100%) spin injection efficiency (SIE). Our nonequilibrium Green's functions calculations indicate that the TMR and SIE are robust under a finite bias voltage of similar to 100mV to 100 mV. These results show that layered MSi2N4 can be promising materials for designing atomically thin MTJ with a giant TMR for future spintronic applications. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

Layered MSi2N4 materials exhibit rich electrical and magnetic properties, making them promising for spintronic applications. The proposed atomically thin VSi2N4/MoSi2N4/VSi2N4 magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) shows a giant tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) and near perfect spin injection efficiency (SIE).