Method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM)

Abstract

The output voltage of an MRAM is increased by means of an Fe(001)/MgO(001)/Fe(001) MTJ device, which is formed by microfabrication of a sample prepared as follows: A single-crystalline MgO (001) substrate is prepared. An epitaxial Fe(001) lower electrode (a first electrode) is grown on a MgO(001) seed layer at room temperature, followed by annealing under ultrahigh vacuum. A MgO(001) barrier layer is epitaxially formed on the Fe(001) lower electrode (the first electrode) at room temperature, using a MgO electron-beam evaporation. A Fe(001) upper electrode (a second electrode) is then formed on the MgO(001) barrier layer at room temperature. This is successively followed by the deposition of a Co layer on the Fe(001) upper electrode (the second electrode). The Co layer is provided so as to increase the coercive force of the upper electrode in order to realize an antiparallel magnetization alignment.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.