2023/11/20 by Lijuan Jiang, Jiang, L. N., Baofeng Chi +5
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Magnetic properties of thin films #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum and electron transport phenomena
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2311.11505
openalex publication_date 2023/11/20 · openalex created_date 2023/11/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Quantum-well resonance is achieved through partial confinement in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), which provides an additional operable degree of freedom to regulate quantum-well levels. Using Al/Fe/MgO/Fe/Al and Ag/Al/Fe/MgO/Fe/Al/Ag MTJs as examples, via first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that the partial confinement of Δ1 electron at Al/Fe interface and the full confinement at Fe/MgO interface combine to produce quantum-well resonances in Fe. The quantum-well levels of Fe can be periodically adjusted by two degrees of freedom: Fe and Al thickness. The oscillation period obtained from conductance G\uparrow\uparrow is 2.13 ML Fe (9 ML Al), close to 2.25 ML Fe (8.33 ML Al) calculated by bcc-Fe (fcc-Al) band. The combination of long and short periods enables quantum-well levels to be finely adjusted. An ultrahigh optimistic TMR effect of 3.05×105% is achieved. Our results provides a new path for designing and applying quantum-well resonances in spintronics devices.