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Samsung patents memory design using uneven magnetic layers

Samsung has been granted a patent for a specific design of magnetic tunnel junctions, a key component in non-volatile memory chips. The invention describes a free layer made of two different magnetic materials separated by a coupling layer, where the outer layer has a much stronger magnetization than the inner one. This asymmetric structure is intended to improve how the memory cell stores data using perpendicular magnetic fields.

Why it mattersThis is a technical improvement to memory hardware that could help make computer storage more stable or efficient, though it is a low-level engineering detail unlikely to be visible to end users.

In the filing’s own words

A perpendicular shape anisotropy magnetic tunnel junction structure includes a reference layer, a non-magnetic layer, and a free layer. The reference layer includes a first side and a second side that is opposite the first side. The non-magnetic spacer includes a first side and a second side. The first side of the non-magnetic spacer is on the second side of the first reference layer. The free layer includes a first side and a second side. The first side of the free layer is on the second side of the non-magnetic spacer. The free layer further includes a first layer on the first side of the free layer, a second layer on the second side of the free layer and a coupling layer disposed between the first layer and the second layer. A saturation magnetization of the second layer is between 2-5 times inclusive a saturation magnetization of the first layer.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A memory device, comprising: a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) structure comprising perpendicular shape anisotropy, and the MTJ structure further comprising: a reference layer comprising a first side and a second side that is opposite the first side of the reference layer; a non-magnetic spacer comprising a first side and a second side, the first side of the non-magnetic spacer being on the second side of the reference layer and the second side of the non-magnetic spacer being opposite the first side of the non-magnetic spacer; and free layer comprising a first side and a second side, the first side of the free layer being on the second side of the non-magnetic spacer and the second side of the free layer being opposite the first side of the free layer, the free layer further comprising a first layer on the first side of the free layer, a second layer on the second side of the free layer and a coupling layer disposed between the first layer and the second layer, a saturation magnetization MsFL 2 of the second layer being between 2 and 5 times inclusive a saturation magnetization MsFL 1 of the first layer.

Facts

Company
Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
Official title
Perpendicular shape anisotropy design with asymmetric composite free layer
Patent number
US12765265B2
Application number
18116835
Filed
Mar 2, 2023
Granted
Oct 13, 2026
Inventors
5
Claims
20

Classified under

H10N 50/10 Electricity & electronicsG11C 11/161 Physics & computingH01F 10/3286 Electricity & electronicsH10B 61/00 Electricity & electronicsH10B 61/22 Electricity & electronicsH10N 50/85 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.