3-Terminal pMTJ reduces critical current and switching time

• We investigate the factors which may affect the critical current density.
• A new structure of 3-ternimal perpendicular MTJ is proposed which can switch between two states without changing the direction of the induced current.
• Energy consumed will be lowered since a relatively low induced current density is needed.
• The switching time between different states is shorter than conventional perpendicular MTJs.

To realize the potential of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) for high-density non-volatile memory and non-volatile logic, the critical current to switch the magnetization must be lowered. This paper presents a simulation study of a new structure of perpendicular MTJs (pMTJs) which divides the fixed layer into two coupling parts. We investigate the TMR and the critical current density of this new pMTJ by micromagnetic simulation using OOMMF for various cases. The simulation results show that this new structure pMTJ has lower critical current and shorter switching time compared to the conventional three-layer MTJs.