Magnetic memory using spin current, operating method thereof, and electronic apparatus including magnetic memory
Provided are a magnetic memory using a spin current, an operating method thereof, and/or an electronic apparatus including the magnetic memory. The magnetic memory includes, first and second wirings spaced apart from each other and intersecting each other, and a data storage layer between the first and second wirings. The data storage layer includes a pinned layer with a fixed magnetic moment, a free layer spaced apart from the pinned layer and not having a fixed magnetic moment, and an insulating tunnel barrier layer provided between the pinned layer and the free layer. Among the first and second wirings, the wiring contacting the free layer includes a conductive wiring having no spin Hall effect, and the free layer includes a two-dimensional material which at room temperature has a spin Hall effect, magnetic properties, and metal properties. The two-dimensional material includes a two-dimensional van der Waals material.
1. A magnetic memory comprising:
a first wiring;
a second wiring spaced apart from the first wiring and intersecting the first wiring; and
a data storage layer between the first wiring and the second wiring and in contact with the first and second wirings, wherein
the data storage layer comprises:
a pinned layer having a fixed magnetic moment;
a free layer spaced apart from the pinned layer and having a magnetic moment that is switchable by using a spin current as a spin-orbit torque (SOT) layer; and
an insulating tunnel barrier layer between the pinned layer and the free layer, wherein a wiring contacting the free layer from among the first and second wirings includes a conductive wiring that does not have a spin Hall effect, and
the free layer comprises a two-dimensional material having a spin Hall effect, magnetic properties, and metallic properties,
wherein one of the first wiring and the second wiring is a bit line, and wherein in a cross-point of one of the first wiring and one of the second wiring, the data storage layer is arranged between the cross-point of the first wiring and the second wiring.
2. The magnetic memory of claim 1 , wherein the two-dimensional material comprises a two-dimensional van der Waals material.
3. The magnetic memory of claim 2 , wherein the two-dimensional van der Waals material comprises at least one of Fe (x) GeTe 2 (x is 3 to 5), CrTe 2 , and VSe 2 .
4. The magnetic memory of claim 1 , wherein
each of the first and second wirings includes a plurality of wirings, and
the data storage layer is provided for each intersecting area of the plurality of first wirings and the plurality of second wirings.
5. The magnetic memory of claim 2 , wherein the conductive wiring comprises a Cu wiring.
6. The magnetic memory of claim 1 , wherein the tunnel barrier layer comprises one or more of an MgO layer, a boron nitride (BN) layer, or an aluminum oxide layer.
7. The magnetic memory of claim 1 , wherein a material of the pinned layer is the same as a material of the free layer.
8. An operating method of a magnetic memory in an operating method of a spin orbit torque-magnetic random access memory (SOT-MRAM), wherein the SOT-MRAM comprises the magnetic memory of claim 1 , and the operating method of a magnetic memory comprises:
applying a first operating current to a wiring contacting the free layer among the first and second wirings, a first spin current being generated to the free layer by the first operating current; and
applying a second operating current to a wiring not contacting the free layer among the first and second wirings, a second spin current being generated to the free layer by the second operating current.
9. The operating method of claim 8 , wherein the second operating current is less than the first operating current.
10. The operating method of claim 8 , wherein the first and second operating currents correspond to write currents for data recording.
11. The operating method of claim 8 , wherein the first and second operating currents correspond to erasing currents for data erasure.
12. The operating method of claim 8 , wherein the two-dimensional material comprises a two-dimensional van der Waals material.
13. An operating method of a spin-orbit torque (SOT)-based magnetic memory including a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) including a pinned layer and a free layer, the method comprising performing a first operation,
wherein the performing the first operation comprises:
lowering a coercive force of the free layer of the SOT-based magnetic memory by using a first spin current; and
switching a magnetic moment of the free layer of the SOT-based magnetic memory in which the coercive force is lowered, by using a second spin current.
14. The operating method of claim 13 , wherein the first and second spin currents correspond to currents for data recording.
15. The operating method of claim 13 , wherein the first and second spin currents correspond to currents for data erasure.
16. The operating method of claim 13 , wherein the lowering of a coercive force of the free layer comprises applying a first operating current to a wiring contacting the free layer.
17. The operating method of claim 13 ,
wherein the switching of a magnetic moment of the free layer comprises applying a second operating current to a wiring contacting the pinned layer.
18. The operating method of claim 13 , wherein the free layer comprises a two-dimensional van der Waals material which at room temperature has a spin Hall effect, magnetic properties, and metallic properties.
19. The operating method of claim 16 , wherein the wiring contacting the free layer comprises a metal wiring having no spin Hall effect.
20. An electronic apparatus comprising a memory, wherein the memory comprises the magnetic memory of claim 1 .
21. The magnetic memory of claim 1 , wherein at the cross-point a width of the second wiring along the first direction is less than a width of the data storage layer along the first direction.