Performance Analysis of Fe/SiO2/Fe MTJ and Ni/Al2O3/Ni MTJ-based Magnetoresistive Random Access Memories (MRAMs)

Abstract

This paper reports the first principle simulations of Fe/SiO₂/Fe and Ni/Al₂O₃/Ni magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). A performance analysis has been done based upon the device-level simulations of the two magnetic tunnel junctions followed by the circuit level simulations of magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) cell operating with the two MTJs respectively. From the device-level simulations, the two MTJs have been compared with regard to the bias dependence of TMR ratios, insulator thickness dependence of TMR ratios and insulator thickness dependence of parallel and anti-parallel state resistances taking the relative magnetizations of the two ferromagnetic films of the MTJs into consideration. From the circuit-level simulations, the static and switching power dissipations have been computed along with the delay time estimation.

Keywords: First principle, magnetic tunnel junction, DFT, ATK, MRAM, TMR, LSDA