Magnetoresistance effect element

1. A magnetoresistance effect element comprising:

a first ferromagnetic metal layer;

a second ferromagnetic metal layer; and

a tunnel barrier layer that is sandwiched between the first and second ferromagnetic metal layers,

wherein the tunnel barrier layer has a spinel structure comprising a divalent cation and a trivalent cation in a unit cell wherein a concentration of constituent elements of the divalent cation in the unit cell is more than half a concentration of constituent elements of the trivalent cation in the unit cell, and

wherein the divalent cation is a non-magnetic divalent cation which is one or more selected from a group consisting of magnesium, zinc and cadmium,

wherein the tunnel barrier layer comprises: at least one lattice-matched portion that is lattice-matched with both of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer; and at least one lattice-mismatched portion that is not lattice-matched with at least one of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer,

and wherein, when viewed in a stacking direction of a cross-section TEM image of the interface between the tunnel barrier layer and the first and/or the second ferromagnetic metal layer, a lattice-matched portion is made up of a plurality of sequential, continuously-connected lattice lines, and a lattice-mismatched portion is made up of a plurality of sequential, non-continuously-connected lattice lines and/or no lattice lines.

2. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 ,

wherein a volume ratio of the lattice-matched portion with respect to a volume of the entire tunnel barrier layer is 65% to 95%.

3. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 ,

wherein the tunnel barrier layer has a spinel structure in which an atomic arrangement is disordered.

4. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 ,

wherein the first ferromagnetic metal layer has larger coercivity than that of the second ferromagnetic metal layer.

5. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 ,

wherein the tunnel barrier layer has a film thickness of 0.7 nm to 1.7 nm.

6. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 ,

wherein at least one of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer has magnetic anisotropy perpendicular to a stacking direction.

7. The magnetoresistance effect element according to claim 1 ,

wherein at least one of the first ferromagnetic metal layer and the second ferromagnetic metal layer is Co 2 Mn 1-a Fe a Al b Si 1-b (0≤a≤1, 0≤b≤1).