Thermo-magnetic random access memory: a new route for low power applications

The concept of thermo-magnetic writing was demonstrated and important features such as selectivity and the protection against stray fields were confirmed. Moreover, submicron size magnetic tunnel junctions can be written using 5 ns heating pulses proving that the thermo-magnetic approach is competitive with the conventional schemes in terms of write speed. In this approach, both magnetic electrodes of the tunnel junction are exchange-biased with antiferromagnetic layers, the reference layer having a much higher blocking temperature. During the write operation, the selection transistor is opened and a current pulse is sent through the stack. The heat generated in the vicinity of the tunnel barrier allows reaching the blocking temperature of the storage layer without affecting the reference layer. The system is then cooled under a magnetic field, larger than the coercive field of the storage layer.