Prediction of Giant Tunneling Magnetoresistance in RuO$_{2}$/TiO$_{2}$/RuO$_{2}$ (110) Antiferromagnetic Tunnel Junctions

Yuan-Yuan Jiang; Zi-An Wang; Kartik Samanta; Shu-Hui Zhang; Rui-Chun Xiao; W. J. Lu; Y. P. Sun; Evgeny Y. Tsymbal; Ding-Fu Shao

paper

Prediction of Giant Tunneling Magnetoresistance in RuO $_{2}$ /TiO $_{2}$ /RuO $_{2}$ (110) Antiferromagnetic Tunnel Junctions

arXiv:2309.02634

Abstract

Using first-principles quantum-transport calculations, we investigate spin-dependent electronic and transport properties of antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions (AFMTJs) that consist of (110)-oriented antiferromagnetic (AFM) metal RuO $_{2}$ electrodes and an insulating TiO $_{2}$ tunneling barrier. We predict the emergence of a giant tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect in a wide energy window, a series of barrier layer thicknesses, and different interface terminations, indicating the robustness of this effect. We show that the predicted TMR cannot be explained in terms of the global transport spin-polarization of RuO $_{2}$ (110) but is well understood based on matching the momentum-dependent spin-polarized conduction channels of the two RuO $_{2}$ (110) electrodes. We predict oscillations of TMR with increasing barrier thickness, indicating a non-negligible contribution from the perfectly epitaxial interfaces. Our work helps the understanding of the physics of TMR in AFMTJs and aids in realizing efficient AFM spintronic devices.

The colorbar of originl Fig. 2a was not set properly, which is corrected in this version. To be published in PRB

Prediction of Giant Tunneling Magnetoresistance in RuO2​/TiO2​/RuO2​ (110) Antiferromagnetic Tunnel Junctions

Abstract

Prediction of Giant Tunneling Magnetoresistance in RuO $_{2}$ /TiO $_{2}$ /RuO $_{2}$ (110) Antiferromagnetic Tunnel Junctions