Patent ID: 7480173

Claim:
An MTJ MRAM device operating in a CPP configuration and utilizing the transfer of conduction electron spin angular momentum to change a free layer magnetization direction, comprising: a substrate; an MTJ element formed on said substrate, said element comprising a vertically stacked lamination of horizontal parallel layers including, therein, in the following order, an antiferromagnetic pinning layer, a pinned layer, a reference layer, a tunneling barrier layer, the free layer, a first conducting non-magnetic layer and a pinned drive layer, and wherein said free layer is a three layer laminate further comprising two layers of ferromagnetic material with a thin, second conducting non-magnetic layer formed therebetween and wherein, said ferromagnetic layers are magnetized in parallel directions within the horizontal plane of their formation, said directions being maintained by exchange coupling and wherein, said ferromagnetic layers are formed with a uni-axial magnetic anisotropy to render said magnetization directions thermally stable and wherein, a current of conduction electrons in the vertical direction can change the direction of magnetization of said free layer by both reflection and transmission, thereby minimizing the strength of the current.