ANALYSIS OF A MAGNET TUNNEL JUNCTION
Aim
To investigate a magnetic tunnel junction sensor produced in a company and understand why some fail.
Introduction
Magnet tunnel junction (MTJ) is an idea that demanded attention from scientific research, subject to its high sensitivity. The sensor element is not dependable on-field frequency. In addition, according to Mohd Noor Sam et al. (2019), MTJ sensors have a relatively low detectivity range hence their varied applications in various industries, including pharmaceutical, automotive sectors, technology industries in the development of magnetic access memory (MRAM) and construction industries. They are distinguishable from other magnetic sensors due to their ability to be miniaturized to nanoscale and atomic-scale levels (Mohd Noor Sam et al., 2019). Due to the few excellent innate elements stated above, magnetic tunnel junction sensors have played an imperative role as non-destructive testing sensors in pharmaceutical industries as evaluations that do not cause damage to a specified specimen in observation. Additionally, the dream of having instant-on computers is not far-fetched owing to the non-volatile memory introduction by the MTJ sensors. Studies done to date on MTJ sensors are limited, and more research needs to be done on various materials used in MTJ sensors, analyzing the nanoscale and atomic composition.
Specifically, the nano and atomic level properties greatly affect the efficiency of an MTJ sensor during production. These parameters include lattice structure, uniformity, geometrical measures, and surface roughness during deposition. This report analyzes a magneto-tunnelling junction sensor composed of two ferromagnetic layers of about 100nm thick, two contacts of about 200nm thick and an oxide of a light element, about 1 nm thick, to understand why some are failing in production in the company.