Electronic devices with magnetic and attractor materials and methods of fabrication
View Patent ↗A magnetic cell includes an attracter material proximate to a magnetic region (e.g., a free region). The attracter material is formulated to have a higher chemical affinity for a diffusible species of a magnetic material, from which the magnetic region is formed, compared to a chemical affinity between the diffusible species and at least another species of the magnetic material. Thus, the diffusible species is removed from the magnetic material to the attracter material. The removal accommodates crystallization of the depleted magnetic material. The crystallized, depleted magnetic material enables a high tunnel magnetoresistance, high energy barrier, and high energy barrier ratio. The magnetic region may be formed as a continuous magnetic material, thus enabling a high exchange stiffness, and positioning the magnetic region between two magnetic anisotropy-inducing oxide regions enables a high magnetic anisotropy strength. Methods of fabrication and semiconductor devices are also disclosed.
1. An electronic device, comprising:
structure between a lower electrode and an upper electrode, the structure comprising:
a magnetic tunnel junction sub-structure comprising an intermediate oxide region between a free region and a fixed region;
a foundation region between the lower electrode and the magnetic tunnel junction sub-structure; and
an attractor material and a base oxide material between the foundation region and the magnetic tunnel junction sub-structure.
2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the attractor material and the base oxide material are located between the foundation region and the free region.
3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the foundation region comprises at least one of cobalt and iron.
4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the attractor material comprises tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, zirconium, or combinations thereof.
5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the attractor material has a thickness of less than about 6 Angstroms.
6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the free region comprises CoFe and the attractor material comprises tantalum and boron.
7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the attractor material comprises boron diffused from the free region.
8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the attractor material and the base oxide material are integrated with one another in an attractor oxide region between the foundation region and the magnetic tunnel junction sub-structure.
9. An electronic device, comprising:
a magnetic tunnel junction sub-structure over a foundation region, the magnetic tunnel junction sub-structure comprising an oxide region between a free region and a fixed region;
an attractor material proximate the free region; and
another oxide region proximate the attractor material.
10. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the oxide region and the another oxide region comprise the same material.
11. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the another oxide region comprises the same material as the oxide region, the another oxide region having different atomic ratios of elements thereof than the oxide region.
12. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the attractor material consists of tantalum and boron.
13. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the another oxide material is spaced from the free region by the attractor material.
14. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein:
the attractor material comprises tantalum;
the oxide region comprises magnesium oxide; and
the fixed region comprises CoFeB.
15. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the attractor material comprises at least one of tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, or zirconium bonded to boron.
16. The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the attractor material further comprises boron.
17. A method of forming an electronic device, the method comprising:
forming a magnetic tunnel junction sub-structure over a foundation region, forming the magnetic tunnel junction sub-structure comprising forming an oxide region between a fixed region and a free region;
forming an attractor material proximate the free region; and
forming another oxide material proximate the attractor material.
18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising annealing the free region and the attractor material to diffuse a species from the free region to the attractor material.
19. The method of claim 17 , wherein:
forming an oxide material comprises forming magnesium oxide;
forming an attractor material comprises forming an attractor material comprising tantalum; and
forming the fixed region comprises forming CoFeB.
20. The method of claim 18 , wherein annealing the free region and the attractor material comprises forming an attractor region comprising boron chemically bonded to at least one of tantalum, tungsten, hafnium, and zirconium.