Thermal stability of magnetic tunnel junctions with FeO/sub x/ doped tunnel barrier

Magnetic tunnel junctions were fabricated with tunnel barriers that had a thin film of Fe(0-8 /spl Aring/ thick) inserted in the middle to study the effect of FeO/sub x/ doping on the magneto-electron transport properties of the junction. Tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio of 24% was realized with the tunnel junction with a 2 /spl Aring/-thick Fe interlayer, whereas the junction without doping did not exhibit the TMR effect. The FeO/sub x/ doping also considerably improved the thermal stability of the junction, retaining the TMR ratio of 15% at 350/spl deg/C.