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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Hydrogen Species Motion in Piezoelectrics: A Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering Study

Hydrogen is known to damage or degrade piezoelectric materials, at low pressure for ferroelectric random access memory applications, and at high pressure for hydrogen powered vehicle applications. The piezoelectric degradation is in part governed by the motion of hydrogen species within the piezoelectric materials. We present here Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering (QENS) measurements of the local hydrogen species motion within lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and barium titanate (BTO) on samples charged by gaseous exposure to high-pressure gaseous hydrogen {approx}17 MPa. Filter Analyzed Neutron Spectroscopy (FANS) studies of the hydrogen enhanced vibrational modes are presented as well. Results are discussed in context of theoretically predicted interstitial hydrogen lattice sites and compared to comparable bulk diffusion studies of hydrogen diffusion in lead zirconate titanate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Hydrogen diffusion in lead zirconate titanate and barium titanate

Hydrogen is a potential clean-burning, next-generation fuel for vehicle and stationary power. Unfortunately, hydrogen is also well known to have serious materials compatibility issues in metals, polymers, and ceramics. Piezoelectric actuator materials proposed for low-cost, high efficiency high-pressure hydrogen internal combustion engines (HICE) are known to degrade rapidly in hydrogen. This limits their potential use and poses challenges for HICE. Hydrogen-induced degradation of piezoelectrics is also an issue for low-pressure hydrogen passivation in ferroelectric random access memory. Currently, there is a lack of data in the literature on hydrogen species diffusion in piezoelectrics in the temperature range appropriate for the HICE as charged via a gaseous route. We present 1 HNMR quantification of the local hydrogen species diffusion within lead zirconate titanate and barium titanate on samples charged by exposure to high-pressure gaseous hydrogen ~32 MPa. We discuss results in the context of theoretically predicted interstitial hydrogen lattice sites and aqueous charging experiments from existing literature.

barium titanate↗
DOE OSTI2013

Low-temperature magnetic characterization of optimum and etch-damaged in-plane magnetic tunnel junctions

We describe low-temperature characterization of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) patterned by reactive ion etching for spin-transfer-torque magnetic random access memory. Magnetotransport measurements of typical MTJs show increasing tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) and larger coercive fields as temperature is decreased down to 10 K. However, MTJs selected from the high-resistance population of an MTJ array exhibit stable intermediate magnetic states when measured at low temperature and show TMR roll-off below 100 K. These non-ideal low-temperature behaviors arise from edge damage during the etch process and can have negative impacts on thermal stability of the MTJs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

X-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetic circular dichroism studies of L1{sub 0}-Mn-Ga thin films

Tetragonally distorted Mn{sub 3−x}Ga{sub x} thin films with 0.1<x<2 show a strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and low magnetization and thus have the potential to serve as electrodes in spin transfer torque magnetic random access memory. Because a direct capping of these films with MgO is problematic due to oxide formation, we examined the influence of a CoFeB interlayer and of two different deposition methods for the MgO barrier on the formation of interfacial Mn-O for Mn{sub 62}Ga{sub 38} by element specific X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). A highly textured L1{sub 0} crystal structure of the Mn-Ga films was verified by X-ray diffraction measurements. For samples with e-beam evaporated MgO barrier no evidence for Mn-O was found whereas in samples with magnetron sputtered MgO, Mn-O was detected, even for the thickest interlayer thickness. Both XAS and XMCD measurements showed an increasing interfacial Mn-O amount with decreasing CoFeB interlayer thickness. Additional element specific full hysteresis loops determined an out-of-plane magnetization axis for the Mn and Co, respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Unusual crystallization behavior in Ga-Sb phase change alloys

Combined in situ X-ray scattering techniques using synchrotron radiation were applied to investigate the crystallization behavior of Sb-rich Ga-Sb alloys. Measurements of the sheet resistance during heating indicated a reduced crystallization temperature with increased Sb content, which was confirmed by in situ X-ray diffraction. The electrical contrast increased with increasing Sb content and the resistivities in both the amorphous and crystalline phases decreased. It was found that by tuning the composition between Ga:Sb = 9:91 (in at.%) and Ga:Sb = 45:55, the change in mass density upon crystallization changes from an increase in mass density which is typical for most phase change materials to a decrease in mass density. At the composition of Ga:Sb = 30:70, no mass density change is observed which should be very beneficial for phase change random access memory (PCRAM) applications where a change in mass density during cycling is assumed to cause void formation and PCRAM device failure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Acoustically assisted spin-transfer-torque switching of nanomagnets: An energy-efficient hybrid writing scheme for non-volatile memory

We show that the energy dissipated to write bits in spin-transfer-torque random access memory can be reduced by an order of magnitude if a surface acoustic wave (SAW) is launched underneath the magneto-tunneling junctions (MTJs) storing the bits. The SAW-generated strain rotates the magnetization of every MTJs' soft magnet from the easy towards the hard axis, whereupon passage of a small spin-polarized current through a target MTJ selectively switches it to the desired state with > 99.99% probability at room temperature, thereby writing the bit. The other MTJs return to their original states at the completion of the SAW cycle.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Recent progress in III-V based ferromagnetic semiconductors: Band structure, Fermi level, and tunneling transport

Spin-based electronics or spintronics is an emerging field, in which we try to utilize spin degrees of freedom as well as charge transport in materials and devices. While metal-based spin-devices, such as magnetic-field sensors and magnetoresistive random access memory using giant magnetoresistance and tunneling magnetoresistance, are already put to practical use, semiconductor-based spintronics has greater potential for expansion because of good compatibility with existing semiconductor technology. Many semiconductor-based spintronics devices with useful functionalities have been proposed and explored so far. To realize those devices and functionalities, we definitely need appropriate materials which have both the properties of semiconductors and ferromagnets. Ferromagnetic semiconductors (FMSs), which are alloy semiconductors containing magnetic atoms such as Mn and Fe, are one of the most promising classes of materials for this purpose and thus have been intensively studied for the past two decades. Here, we review the recent progress in the studies of the most prototypical III-V based FMS, p-type (GaMn)As and its heterostructures with focus on tunneling transport, Fermi level, and bandstructure. Furthermore, we cover the properties of a new n-type FMS, (In,Fe)As, which shows electron-induced ferromagnetism. These FMS materials having zinc-blende crystal structure show excellent compatibility with well-developed III-V heterostructures and devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Structural transformations in amorphous ↔ crystalline phase change of Ga-Sb alloys

Ga-Sb alloys with compositions ranging between ∼12 and 50 at. % Ga are promising materials for phase change random access memory applications. The short-range structures of two such alloys with compositions Ga{sub 14}Sb{sub 86} and Ga{sub 46}Sb{sub 54} are investigated, in their amorphous and crystalline states, using {sup 71}Ga and {sup 121}Sb nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The Ga and Sb atoms are fourfold coordinated in the as-deposited amorphous Ga{sub 46}Sb{sub 54} with nearly 40% of the constituent atoms being involved in Ga-Ga and Sb-Sb homopolar bonding. This necessitates extensive bond switching and elimination of homopolar bonds during crystallization. On the other hand, Ga and Sb atoms are all threefold coordinated in the as-deposited amorphous Ga{sub 14}Sb{sub 86}. Crystallization of this material involves phase separation of GaSb domains in Sb matrix and a concomitant increase in the Ga coordination number from 3 to 4. Results from crystallization kinetics experiments suggest that the melt-quenching results in the elimination of structural “defects” such as the homopolar bonds and threefold coordinated Ga atoms in the amorphous phases of these alloys, thereby rendering them structurally more similar to the corresponding crystalline states compared to the as-deposited amorphous phases.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Influence of thermal agitation on the electric field induced precessional magnetization reversal with perpendicular easy axis

We investigated the influence of thermal agitation on the electric field induced precessional magnetization switching probability with perpendicular easy axis by solving the Fokker-Planck equation numerically with finite difference method. The calculated results show that the thermal agitation during the reversal process crucially influences the switching probability. The switching probability can be achieved is only determined by the thermal stability factor Δ of the free layer, it is independent on the device dimension, which is important for the high density device application. Ultra-low error rate down to the order of 10{sup −9} can be achieved for the device of thermal stability factor Δ of 40. Low damping factor α material should be used for the free layer for high reliability device applications. These results exhibit potential of electric field induced precessional magnetization switching with perpendicular easy axis for ultra-low power, high speed and high density magnetic random access memory (MRAM) applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Micromagnetic simulations of spin-wave normal modes and the spin-transfer-torque driven magnetization dynamics of a ferromagnetic cross

We studied spin-transfer-torque (STT) switching of a cross-shaped magnetic tunnel junction in a recent report [Roy et al., J. Appl. Phys. 113, 223904 (2013)]. In that structure, the free layer is designed to have four stable energy states using the shape anisotropy of a cross. STT switching showed different regions with increasing current density. Here, we employ the micromagnetic spectral mapping technique in an attempt to understand how the asymmetry of cross dimensions and spin polarization direction of the injected current affect the magnetization dynamics. We compute spatially averaged frequency-domain spectrum of the time-domain magnetization dynamics in the presence of the current-induced STT term. At low currents, the asymmetry of polarization direction and that of the arms are observed to cause a splitting of the excited frequency modes. Higher harmonics are also observed, presumably due to spin-wave wells caused by the regions of spatially non-uniform effective magnetic field. The results could be used towards designing a multi-bit-per-cell STT-based random access memory with an improved storage density.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Mixing antiferromagnets to tune NiFe-[IrMn/FeMn] interfacial spin-glasses, grains thermal stability, and related exchange bias properties

Spintronics devices and in particular thermally assisted magnetic random access memories require a wide range of ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic (F/AF) exchange bias (EB) properties and subsequently of AF materials to fulfil diverse functionality requirements for the reference and storage. For the reference layer, large EB energies and high blocking temperature (T{sub B}) are required. In contrast, for the storage layer, mostly moderate T{sub B} are needed. One of the present issues is to find a storage layer with properties intermediate between those of IrMn and FeMn and in particular: (i) with a T{sub B} larger than FeMn for better stability at rest-T but lower than IrMn to reduce power consumption at write-T and (ii) with improved magnetic interfacial quality, i.e., with reduced interfacial glassy character for lower properties dispersions. To address this issue, the EB properties of F/AF based stacks were studied for various mixed [IrMn/FeMn] AFs. In addition to EB loop shifts, the F/AF magnetic interfacial qualities and the AF grains thermal stability are probed via measurements of the low- and high-temperature contributions to the T{sub B} distributions, respectively. A tuning of the above three parameters is observed when evolving from IrMn to FeMn via [IrMn/FeMn] repetitions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Influence of hydrogen patterning gas on electric and magnetic properties of perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions

To identify the degradation mechanism in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) using hydrogen, the properties of the MTJs were measured by applying an additional hydrogen etch process and a hydrogen plasma process to the patterned MTJs. In these studies, an additional 50 s hydrogen etch process caused the magnetoresistance (MR) to decrease from 103% to 14.7% and the resistance (R) to increase from 6.5 kΩ to 39 kΩ. Moreover, an additional 500 s hydrogen plasma process decreased the MR from 103% to 74% and increased R from 6.5 kΩ to 13.9 kΩ. These results show that MTJs can be damaged by the hydrogen plasma process as well as by the hydrogen etch process, as the atomic bonds in MgO may break and react with the exposed hydrogen gas. Compounds such as MgO hydrate very easily. We also calculated the damaged layer width (DLW) of the patterned MTJs after the hydrogen etching and plasma processes, to evaluate the downscaling limitations of spin-transfer-torque magnetic random-access memory (STT-MRAM) devices. With these calculations, the maximum DLWs at each side of the MTJ, generated by the etching and plasma processes, were 23.8 nm and 12.8 nm, respectively. This result validates that the hydrogen-based MTJ patterning processes cannot be used exclusively in STT-MRAMs beyond 20 nm.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electric-field induced strain modulation of magnetization in Fe-Ga/Pb(Mg{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3})-PbTiO{sub 3} magnetoelectric heterostructures

Magnetostrictive Fe-Ga thin layers were deposited on 〈110〉-oriented Pb(Mg{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3})-30%PbTiO{sub 3} (PMN-30%PT) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The as-prepared heterostructures showed columnar arrays aligned in the out-of-plane direction. Transmission electron microscopy revealed nanocrystalline regions within the columnar arrays of the Fe-Ga film. The heterostructure exhibited a strong converse magnetoelectric coupling effect of up to 4.55 × 10{sup −7} s m{sup −1}, as well as an electric field tunability of the in-plane magnetic anisotropy. Furthermore, the remanent magnetization states of the Fe-Ga films can be reversibly and irreversibly changed by external electric fields, suggesting a promising and robust application in magnetic random access memories and spintronics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Uniform bipolar resistive switching properties with self-compliance effect of Pt/TiO{sub 2}/p-Si devices

We report uniform bipolar resistive switching characteristic with self-compliance effect of Pt/TiO{sub 2}/p-Si devices in which TiO{sub 2} thin films were prepared directly on p-Si substrates by chemical solution deposition method. The resistive switching parameters of the Pt/TiO{sub 2}/p-Si cell obtained, such as distribution of threshold voltages, retention time, as well as resistance variation of high resistance state (HRS) and low resistance state (LRS), were investigated, and the conduction mechanisms of HRS and LRS were analyzed. The conductive mechanism at LRS and low voltage region of HRS was dominated by Ohmic law. At the high voltage region of HRS, the conductive mechanism followed the space charge limited current theory. The resistive switching phenomenon can be explained by electron trapping and de-trapping process, in which the defects (most probably oxygen vacancies) act as electron traps. Our study suggests that using p-type silicon as bottom electrode can provide a simple method for fabricating a resistive random access memory with self-compliance function. In addition, the Pt/TiO{sub 2}/p-Si configuration is compatible with complementary metal oxide semiconductor process.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Oxygen vacancy defects in Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} showing long-range atomic re-arrangements

The structure, formation energy, and energy levels of the various oxygen vacancies in Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} have been calculated using the λ phase model. The intra-layer vacancies give rise to unusual, long-range bonding rearrangements, which are different for each defect charge state. The 2-fold coordinated intra-layer vacancy is the lowest cost vacancy and forms a deep level 1.5 eV below the conduction band edge. The 3-fold intra-layer vacancy and the 2-fold inter-layer vacancy are higher cost defects, and form shallower levels. The unusual bonding rearrangements lead to low oxygen migration barriers, which are useful for resistive random access memory applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

A hybrid magnetic/complementary metal oxide semiconductor three-context memory bit cell for non-volatile circuit design

After decades of continued scaling to the beat of Moore's law, it now appears that conventional silicon based devices are approaching their physical limits. In today's deep-submicron nodes, a number of short-channel and quantum effects are emerging that affect the manufacturing process, as well as, the functionality of the microelectronic systems-on-chip. Spintronics devices that exploit both the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge, are promising solutions to circumvent these scaling threats. Being compatible with the CMOS technology, such devices offer a promising synergy of radiation immunity, infinite endurance, non-volatility, increased density, etc. In this paper, we present a hybrid (magnetic/CMOS) cell that is able to store and process data both electrically and magnetically. The cell is based on perpendicular spin-transfer torque magnetic tunnel junctions (STT-MTJs) and is suitable for use in magnetic random access memories and reprogrammable computing (non-volatile registers, processor cache memories, magnetic field-programmable gate arrays, etc). To demonstrate the potential our hybrid cell, we physically implemented a small hybrid memory block using 45 nm × 45 nm round MTJs for the magnetic part and 28 nm fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) technology for the CMOS part. We also report the cells measured performances in terms of area, robustness, read/write speed and energy consumption.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Resistive switching of a TaO{sub x}/TaON double layer via ionic control of carrier tunneling

Resistance random access memory (RRAM) is an attractive candidate for future non-volatile memory due to its superior features. As the oxide thickness is scaled down, the charge transport mechanism is also subject to the transition from hopping to tunneling dominant process, which is critically related to the interfacial electronic band structure. A TaO{sub x}/TaON double layer-based RRAM is fabricated and characterized in this work. Upon TaON insertion at the lower interface, the improved switching behavior is observed. The TaON at the bottom electrode interface blocks oxygen vacancy percolation due to strong N-O bonds and also modifies interfacial band alignment to lower the injected electron energy from bottom electrode due to higher tunneling barrier height than that of TaO{sub x}/Pt. This study suggested that a defect-minimized insertion layer like TaON with a proper interfacial band alignment is pivotal in RRAM for the effective ionic control of carrier tunneling resulting in non-linear I-V behavior with improved properties.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Large exchange bias enhancement in (Pt(or Pd)/Co)/IrMn/Co trilayers with ultrathin IrMn thanks to interfacial Cu dusting

The magnitude of exchange bias (H{sub ex}) at room temperature can be significantly enhanced in IrMn/Co and (Pt(or Pd)/Co)/IrMn/Co structures thanks to the insertion of an ultrathin Cu dusting layer at the IrMn/Co interface. The combination of trilayer structure and interfacial Cu dusting leads to a three-fold increase in H{sub ex} as compared to the conventional IrMn/Co bilayer structure, with an increased blocking temperature (T{sub B}) and a concave curvature of the temperature dependence H{sub ex}(T), ideal for improved Thermally Assisted-Magnetic Random Access Memory storage layer. This exchange bias enhancement is ascribed to a reduction of the spin frustration at the IrMn/Co interface thanks to interfacial Cu addition.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗