Tunneling Anisotropic Magnetoresistance in Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions

Authors

Artem Alexandrov, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
M. Ye. Zhuravlev, St. Petersburg State UniversityFollow
Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, University of Nebraska at LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

8-27-2019

Citation

PHYSICAL REVIEW APPLIED 12, 024056 (2019).

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.12.024056

Comments

© 2019 American Physical Society. Used by permission.

Abstract

Using a simple quantum-mechanical model, we explore a tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR) effect in ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) with a ferromagnetic electrode and a ferroelectric barrier layer, where spontaneous polarization gives rise to the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling (SOC). For realistic parameters of the model, we predict sizable TAMR measurable experimentally. For asymmetric FTJs, whose electrodes have different work functions, the built-in electric field affects the SOC parameters and leads to TAMR being dependent on the ferroelectric polarization direction. The SOC change with polarization switching affects tunneling conductance, revealing an alternative mechanism of tunneling electroresistance. These results demonstrate alternative functionalities of FTJs, which can be explored experimentally and used in electronic devices.