Asymmetric behavior of current-induced magnetization switching in a magnetic tunnel junction: Non-equilibrium first-principles calculations

作者：Araidai Masaaki^*; Yamamoto Takahiro; Shiraishi Kenji

来源：Applied Physics Express, 2014, 7(4): 045202.

DOI：10.7567/APEX.7.045202

We investigated the microscopic mechanisms of current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) in an Fe/MgO(001)/Fe/Ta magnetic tunnel junction using non-equilibrium first-principles calculations. We found that the change in the magnetization configuration from antiparallel (AP) to parallel (P) can be realized with a lower electrical power than that from P to AP. From detailed analyses of the density of states subject to a finite bias voltage, we clarified that the asymmetric behavior originates from the difference in the electron scattering processes between switching directions.

• 出版日期2014-4