Microwave-assisted magnetization switching of Ni80Fe20 in magnetic tunnel junctions

Microwave-assisted magnetization switching was investigated using Fe30Co70/AlOx/Ni80Fe20 magnetic tunnel junctions incorporated with a coplanar waveguide. Coercivity field of Ni80Fe20 layer was dramatically reduced in a small amplitude microwave. The authors eliminated the thermal effect in coercivity reduction by comparing two types of measurements which are with and without spin precession in the presence of microwave. It was found that the coercivity reduction depends on both frequency and power of the microwave. The numerical simulation based on Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation reproduced the trend of the experimental data. The results indicate that microwave can be an efficient means to switch the magnetization of a thin film. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.