Multilevel magnetic element
AssigneeCrocus Technology SA
InventorBertrand Cambou
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure concerns a multilevel magnetic element comprising a first tunnel barrier layer between a soft ferromagnetic layer having a magnetization that can be freely aligned and a first hard ferromagnetic layer having a magnetization that is fixed at a first high temperature threshold and freely alignable at a first low temperature threshold. The magnetic element further comprises a second tunnel barrier layer and a second hard ferromagnetic layer having a magnetization that is fixed at a second high temperature threshold and freely alignable at a first low temperature threshold; the soft ferromagnetic layer being comprised between the first and second tunnel barrier layers. The magnetic element disclosed herein allows for writing four distinct levels using only a single current line.
Claims15
A method for operating a magnetic element, the magnetic element comprising:
- a soft ferromagnetic layer having a magnetization that can be freely aligned;
- a first hard ferromagnetic layer having a magnetization that is fixed at a first low temperature threshold and freely alignable at a first high temperature threshold;
- a first tunnel barrier layer between the soft ferromagnetic layer and the first hard ferromagnetic layer;
- a second hard ferromagnetic layer having a magnetization that is fixed at the first low temperature threshold and freely alignable at a second high temperature threshold;
- and a second tunnel barrier layer;
- the soft ferromagnetic layer being comprised between the first and second tunnel barrier layers;
- the method comprising, during a write operation:
- heating said magnetic element to the first high temperature threshold;
- applying a first write magnetic field such as to align the magnetization of the first storage layer and the magnetization of the second storage layer in accordance with the first magnetic field;
- cooling said magnetic element to the first low temperature threshold such as to freeze the magnetization of the first and second storage layers in their aligned state.
A method for operating a multilevel magnetic element, the magnetic element comprising a soft ferromagnetic layer having a magnetization that can be freely aligned;
- a first hard ferromagnetic layer having a magnetization that is fixed at a first low temperature threshold and freely alignable at a first high temperature threshold;
- a first tunnel barrier layer between the soft ferromagnetic layer and the first hard ferromagnetic layer;
- a second hard ferromagnetic layer having a magnetization that is fixed at the first low temperature threshold and freely alignable at a second high temperature threshold, lower than the first predetermined high temperature threshold;
- and a second tunnel barrier layer;
- the soft ferromagnetic layer being comprised between the first and second tunnel barrier layers;
- the method comprising, during a write operation:
- heating said magnetic element to the first high temperature threshold such as to free the magnetization of the first and second storage layers;
- applying a first write magnetic field such as to align the magnetization of the first storage layer in accordance with the first magnetic field;
- cooling said magnetic element to the second high temperature threshold such as to freeze the magnetization of the first storage layer and free the magnetization of the second storage layer;
- and
- applying a second write magnetic field such as to align the magnetization of the second storage layer in accordance with the second magnetic field.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.