REDUCING SWITCHING VARIATION IN MAGNETORESISTIVE DEVICES

摘要

The magnetic characteristics of a magnetoresistive device are improved by rendering magnetic debris non-magnetic during processing operations. Further improvement is realized by annealing the partially- or fully-formed device in the presence of a magnetic field in order to eliminate or stabilize magnetic micro-pinning sites or other magnetic abnormalities within the magnetoresistive stack for the device. Such improvement in magnetic characteristics decreases deviation in switching characteristics in arrays of such magnetoresistive devices such as those present in MRAMs.

主权项

1. A method of manufacturing a magnetoresistive based device, comprising:
depositing a lower layer of electrically conductive material on a substrate; depositing a plurality of stack layers corresponding to a magnetoresistive stack on the lower layer of electrically conductive material, wherein the plurality of stack layers includes layers of magnetic material and at least one dielectric layer corresponding to a tunnel junction; depositing an upper layer of electrically conductive material on the plurality of stack layers to form a partially formed device; performing a first annealing operation with respect to the partially formed device, wherein the first anneal operation is performed in the presence of a first magnetic field; etching at least a first portion of the partially formed device to form an etched partially formed device; and performing a second annealing operation with respect to the etched partially formed device, wherein the second anneal operation is performed in the presence of a second magnetic field.