Effect of crystalline orientation and lattice distortion of FeCo spin polarization enhancement layer in perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction with RE-TM alloy films

Relationship between FeCo crystalline orientation and magnetic properties of TbFeCo/FeCo/Ta trilayer films was investigated. FeCo crystalline orientation could be controlled by changing FeCo deposition rate. Ferromagnetic Hall effect observation clarified that perpendicular component of magnetization in FeCo layer of TbFeCo/FeCo(001)/Ta were better than that of TbFeCo/FeCo(110)/Ta. Lattice spacing of both FeCo(001) films and FeCo(110) ones in the TbFeCo(50 nm)/FeCo (X nm) was also observed. Expansion ratios of FeCo(001) toward film normal direction were higher than that of FeCo(110) as increasing FeCo film thickness, and this indicated that FeCo(001) films were more favorable for magnetic coupling with rare-earth transition metal (RE-TM) alloy films than FeCo(110) ones when FeCo films become thick. However investigation of relationship between FeCo expansion ratios and magnetic properties of TbFeCo/FeCo(001) or (110) (X nm)/Ta trilayer films showed that squareness ratios of specimens with FeCo(001) were worse than that with FeCo(110). (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3358601]