Extended scalability of perpendicular STT-MRAM towards sub-20nm MTJ node

In this article, we report the first experimental demonstration of sub-20nm MTJ cells for investigating the downscaling feasibility of spin-transfer torque (STT) MRAM, one of the most promising candidates to replace conventional memories. We demonstrate the STT switching of 17nm node P-MTJ cells, the smallest feature size ever reported, utilizing perpendicular materials possessing high interface anisotropy of 2.5 erg/cm
²
and improved integration processes to achieve reproducible switching with critical current (Ic) of 44uA, tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) ratio of 70% and thermal stability factor (E/k
B
T) of 34.