Numerical study of two-terminal SOT-MRAM

Abstract

A fully three-dimensional model coupling charge, spin, magnetization, and temperature dynamics is employed to study the switching behavior of the two-terminal spin–orbit torque magnetoresistive random access memory (2T-SOT-MRAM). We demonstrated that free layer (FL) spin-transfer torque (STT) switching is strongly affected by the inclusion of the SOT. The nucleation of the FL magnetization reversal is similar to the conventional three-terminal (3T)-SOT-MRAM. In comparison to the traditional STT-MRAM, the switching times and critical switching voltages are considerably reduced. Furthermore, the full thermal simulations show the significance of the heating process and temperature modeling in MRAM devices as they demonstrate a significantly lower switching time than the one in a constant temperature model.