Large Room-Temperature Magnetoresistance in van der Waals Ferromagnet/Semiconductor Junctions
Wenkai Zhu, Shihong Xie, Hailong Lin, Gaojie Zhang, Hao Wu, Tiangui Hu, Ziao Wang, Xiaomin Zhang, Jiahan Xu, Yujing Wang, Yuanhui Zheng, Faguang Yan, Jing Zhang, Lixia Zhao, A. Patanè, Jia Zhang, Haixin Chang, Kai Wang
Abstract
A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is the core component in memory technologies, such as the magnetic random-access memory, magnetic sensors and programmable logic devices. In particular, MTJs based on two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures offer unprecedented opportunities for low power consumption and miniaturization of spintronic devices. However, their operation at room temperature remains a challenge. Here, we report a large tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of up to 85% at room temperature ( T = 300 K) in vdW MTJs based on a thin (< 10 nm) semiconductor spacer WSe 2 layer embedded between two Fe 3 GaTe 2 electrodes with intrinsic above-room-temperature ferromagnetism. The TMR in the MTJ increases with decreasing temperature up to 164% at T = 10 K. The demonstration of TMR in ultra-thin MTJs at room temperature opens a realistic and promising route for next-generation spintronic applications beyond the current state of the art.