Novel Tunnel Magnetoresistive Sensor Functionalities via Oblique-Incidence Deposition

Controlling the magnetic properties of ultrathin films remains one of the main challenges to the further development of tunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) device applications. The magnetic response in such devices is mainly governed by extending the primary TMR trilayer with the use of suitable contact materials. The transfer of magnetic anisotropy to ferromagnetic electrodes consisting of CoFeB layers results in a field-dependent TMR response, which is determined by the magnetic properties of the CoFeB as well as the contact materials. We flexibly apply oblique-incidence deposition (OID) to introduce arbitrary intrinsic in-plane anisotropy profiles into the magnetic layers. The OID-induced anisotropy shapes the magnetic response and eliminates the requirement of additional magnetic contact materials. Functional control is achieved via an adjustable shape anisotropy that is selectively tailored for the ultrathin CoFeB layers. This approach circumvents previous limitations on TMR devices and allows for the design of new sensing functionalities, which can be precisely customized to a specific application, even in the high field regime. The resulting sensors maintain the typical TMR signal strength as well as a superb thermal stability of the tunnel junction, revealing a striking advantage in functional TMR design using anisotropic interfacial roughness.