Magnetostructural influences of thin Mg insert layers in crystalline CoFe(B)/MgO/CoFe(B) magnetic tunnel junctions

It is common to find a thin (similar to 0.5 nm) layer of Mg deposited prior to the MgO tunnel barrier in crystalline CoFe(B)/MgO/CoFe(B) magnetic tunnel junctions, due to the improved device performance that results. However, despite their common usage, the reasons why such layers are effective are unclear. We use structures that model the lower electrode of such devices to show that a suitably thick Mg insert layer enhances the crystal quality of both MgO and CoFe(B), permits interfacial oxides to reduce back to a metallic ferromagnetic state, and hence improves magnetic switching of the CoFe(B) electrode, properties which are inextricably linked to device performance. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3527939]