Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of Ir/CoFeB/MgO trilayer system tuned by electric fields

Abstract

The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of an Ir/CoFeB/MgO trilayer was investigated after annealing at temperatures ranging from 200 to 350 °C. In the trilayer system annealed at 300 °C, we measured an interface anisotropy energy of 1.9 mJ/m2. Further annealing led to mixing of the buffer and ferromagnet, degrading the properties of the latter. In addition, we show the dependence of the magnetic anisotropy on the bias voltage. The presented system is important for the development of perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions for storage applications.