Coherent Resonant Tunneling through Double Metallic Quantum-Well States

ORAL

Abstract

Study of resonant tunneling through multi-metallic quantum well (QW) structure is not only important for the fundamental understanding of quantum transport, but also for the great potential to generate advanced functionalities of spintronic devices. However, it remains challenging to engineer such structure due to the short electron phase coherence length in metallic QW system. Here, we demonstrate the successful fabrication of double-QW structure in a single fully epitaxial MTJ heterostructure, where two Fe QW layers are sandwiched between three MgAlOx tunnel barriers. We show clear evidence of the coherent resonant tunneling through the discrete QW states in the two QWs. Compared to the single QW structure, the resonant tunneling in double-QW MTJ produces strong conductivity oscillations with much narrower peak width (about half) owing to the enhanced energy filtering effect. This study presents a comprehensive understanding of the resonant tunneling mechanism in MTJ with multiple QWs, which is essential for future development of new spintronic devices operating in the quantum tunneling regime.

Presenters

  • Yuan LU

    • Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy, France
    • Université de Lorraine, Institut Jean Lamour, UMR CNRS 7198, campus ARTEM, 2 Allée André Guinier, 54011, Nancy, France

Authors

  • Yuan LU

    • Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy, France
    • Université de Lorraine, Institut Jean Lamour, UMR CNRS 7198, campus ARTEM, 2 Allée André Guinier, 54011, Nancy, France
  • Bingshan Tao

    • Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • Caihua Wan

    • Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • Ping Tang

    • Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • Jiafeng Feng

    • Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • Hongxiang Wei

    • Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • Xiao Wang

    • Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • Stéphane Andrieu

    • Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • Hongxin Yang

    • Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    • Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
  • Mairbek Chshiev

    • Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, Spintec
    • SPINTEC, University of Grenoble, Grenoble, France
  • Xavier Devaux

    • Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy, France
  • Thomas Hauet

    • Universite de Lorraine
    • Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy, France
  • Francois Montaigne

    • Universite de Lorraine
    • Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy, France
  • Stephane Mangin

    • Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy, France
  • Michel Hehn

    • Universite de Lorraine
    • Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy, France
  • Daniel Lacour

    • Universite de Lorraine
    • Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy, France
  • Xiufeng Han

    • Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China