Patent ID: 8058697

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 third conducting non-magnetic layer and a pinned drive layer, and wherein said free layer is a synthetic exchange coupled laminate consisting of a first layer of ferromagnetic material magnetically exchange coupled in a ferromagnic configuration across a first conducting non-magnetic layer to a second layer of ferromagnetic material; and wherein said second layer of ferromagnetic material is magnetically exchange coupled in an anti ferromagnetic configuration to a third ferromagnetic layer across a second conducting, non-magnetic layer and wherein, said third and said second ferromagnetic layers are magnetized in opposite directions within the horizontal planes of their formation and wherein said opposite directions are maintained by said exchange coupling and wherein said first ferromagnetic layer is magnetized within the horizontal plane of its formation in a direction parallel to that of said second ferromagnetic layer and wherein said magnetization of said first ferromagnetic layer is maintained by said exchange coupling in a direction parallel to said magnetization of said second ferromagnetic layer, and wherein said ferromagnetic layers are formed with a uni-axial magnetic anisotropy to assist in rendering said magnetization directions thermally stable and whereby, a flow of conduction electrons in the vertical direction can change the direction of magnetization of said free layer both by transmission through and reflection from said free layer by a transfer of spin torque between said flow of electrons and said free layer magnetizations.