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Magnetic tunnel junctions using LaSrMnO ferromagnetic electrodes and PbZrTiO3 piezoelectric barrier

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

A.K. Pradhan*
Affiliation:
Center for Materials Research, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia 23504
M. Bahoura
Affiliation:
Center for Materials Research, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia 23504
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: apradhan@nsu.edu
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Abstract

We report on the fabrication and tunneling characteristics of pulsed-laser deposited LaSrMnO (LSMO)/PbZrTiO(PZT)/LSMO/SrTiO3 magnetic tunnel junctions. The trilayer films show magnetic onset at about 360 K with ferromagnetic hysteresis and uniaxial magnetic behavior at room temperature. The microscopic studies show that the effective barrier thickness is reduced due to the presence of defects in the barrier region. Tunneling magnetoresistance measurements were performed on several samples. Our results suggest that the asymmetric deformation of the barrier potential profile induced by the ferroelectric polarization of PZT influences the tunneling characteristics and can be used for electrically controlled readout in quantum computing schemes.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

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