All nitride magnetic tunnel junctions based on nitrogen-doped CoFe electrode and AlNx insulating barrier

The dependence of the structural and magnetic properties of nitrogen-doped CoFe (CoFeN) films as a function of the nitrogen gas flow rate was analyzed to investigate its potential use as ferromagnetic electrodes in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). The addition of a small amount of nitrogen into the CoFe film was strongly associated with the formation of low coercivity and low magnetization in the CoFeN film. We also discuss the electrical and microstructural properties of the as-grown and postannealed CoFeN/AlN/CoFeN MTJs devices developed by using only nitride materials of CoFeN electrodes and AlNx tunneling barriers. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3391776]