Barrier degradation of tunneling magnetoresistance device with MgO barrier and low resistance-area product

MgO barrier degradation is studied in a tunneling magnetoresistance head with low resistance-area product. As the stress current is increased, the resistance is significantly reduced before the barrier breakdown, while the magnetoresistance ratio remains almost unvaried. At the same time, the bias dependence of the resistance becomes less affected by the bias polarity, suggesting that slight degradation occurs at the interface between MgO and the ferromagnetic electrode. Just before the breakdown, the bias dependence shows an increasing tendency, indicating the defect accumulation inside the MgO barrier. The results are helpful for understanding the mechanisms of barrier degradation, which is critical for developing future magnetic tunneling junction devices.