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Postannealed structure and electron transport properties of the magnetic tunnel junctions with preoxidized CoFe pinned electrode were compared with those of the conventional plasma oxidized junctions. The preoxidized junction exhibited its peak tunneling magnetoresistance ratio at 375 °C which is well above the optimal annealing of the normal junction. Using Auger electron spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the thermally annealed junctions, structural and chemical changes after annealing were observed in the tunnel barrier as well as near the interface for both types of the junctions and these changes closely corresponded to the respective postannealed electrical properties. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism analysis indicated that the Co moment in the preoxidized CoFe electrode rose near the tunnel barrier/electrode interface as the optimal annealing temperature was reached. Our results demonstrated that the magnitude of spin polarized tunneling current is very sensitive to the interface structure and that any changes near the barrier interface during thermal annealing can greatly alter the electrical properties of the magnetic tunnel junctions.
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Lee et al. (2003) studied this question.
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