Fully Electrically Controlled Low Resistance-Area Product and Enhanced Tunneling Magnetoresistance in the Van Der Waals Multiferroic Tunnel Junction

Abstract

The development of next-generation spin nanomemory systems faces the challenge of achieving nonvolatile electrical control of magnetic states in magnetic tunnel junctions. Here, a strategy is proposed using trilayer van der Waals heterostructures combining an A-type antiferromagnetic YBr₂ bilayer and a ferroelectric Al₂Se₃ monolayer. Nonvolatile modulation of the ferroelectric polarization direction of Al₂Se₃ can flip the interlayer magnetic coupling of YBr₂ between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic states. The interlayer magnetic phase transition is caused by the band structure shift and interfacial charge transfer induced by the polarization field. The TiTe₂/2L-YBr₂/Al₂Se₃/TiTe₂ multiferroic devices achieve a fully electrically controlled tunneling magnetoresistance with a ratio of up to 11550% and an exceptionally low resistance-area product of 0.28 Ω µm² by establishing a good P-type Ohmic contact between the TiTe₂ electrode and the central heterojunction. There is also a perfect spin filtering effect. This work provides new perspectives for the development of low-power, fast-response, nonvolatile and fully electrically controlled spintronic memory devices.