| Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) consisting of two magnetic layers separated by a thin insulating barrier have emerged as the major candidate for magnetic based information storage systems because of their relatively high tunneling magnetoresistance (MR). The magnitude of the MR is determined by the spin polarization of the magnetic layers. One of the most promising materials for MTJs is magnetite (Fe3O4), which has 100% spin polarization. In theory, the MR of Fe3O4-based MTJ should be large and inverse. However, to date most experimental results have shown a small, positive MR, especially when using an aluminum oxide barrier (AlOx). However, the origin of the sign and low magnitude of the MR for these tunnel junctions remains unclear.;In this thesis, single phase Fe3O4 films and Fe 3O4-based MTJs (junction size: 2 x 2mum 2 ∼ 18 x 12mum) were fabricated with standard photolithography and characterized in terms of electrical, magnetic and microstructual properties. A reactive sputtering can produce high quality Fe3O4 films having smooth surface, which is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). When a reactive sputtered Fe3O4 film was used as a top or bottom electrode for MTJs, the phase at the interface was not single phase Fe3O4. This is because the interface reaction, which can be written as: Fe3O4 + Al => Fe + AlOx (amorphous) , occurs. This causes the junctions to have poor transport. By using in situ oxidation of a thin Fe layer, it was possible to achieve a pure polycrystalline Fe3O4 interface with the AlOx barrier, resulting in an inverse MR. The results showed that the phases and quality of the interface adjacent to the AlOx barrier determine the sign and magnitude of the MR. To obtain inverse and large MR for an MTJ, pure and defect free Fe3O4 should exist at the interface adjacent to the AlOx barrier. |
