Dr' Joshua M' Pomeroy,

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Advanced materials synthesis for spin-based
electronics (a new process approach to hard
drive read heads)

• Dr. Joshua M. Pomeroy,
• Dr. H. Grube, Dr. A.C. Perrella
• recently deceased

joshua.pomeroy_at_nist.gov
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Motivating Objective

• Electronic device performance can be improved by
  producing materials with ideal properties that
  are not intrinsic to known materials
• One strategy is to seek new, undiscovered
  materials with specific properties
• Alternatively,
• NIST process constructs combinations of known
  materials such that the hybrids have properties
  not native to the constituents

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Specific Market Opportunity
Moores Law of Magnetic Recording (hard
drives) We want more storage capacity, but
physically smaller hard drives
Literally EVERY computer sold has a hard drive
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Hard drives Three important pieces
Materials Research Society Bulletin 31 p. 379

• Write Get information onto paper OK
• Retain Paper must last a long time OK
• Read Have to restore the information Challenges

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Resistance Area product

• Resistance x Area (RA) -resistance property of
  layered materials
• For the same layers
• ½ area 2 x Resistance
• Resistance x Capacitance (RC)
• speed large RC slow

A x R RA
½ A x 2 R RA

• Engineers like resistance to stay the same, even
  if size (area) changes, therefore, need
  adjustable RA product

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Two Read sensors RA product limitation

• Low resistance metal based CPP-GMR type sensors
• (metal/metal/metal layer structures)
• RA m? mm2
• Problem very small signal!
• High resistance insulator based MTJ type
  sensors
• (metal/insulator/metal layer structures)
• RA M? mm2
• Problem too slow (RC too big)!

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Modified Oxides Magnetic Sensors

• Industry Need Continuously variable RA for a
  single sensor design with useable MR (signal
  strength).

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Overview of Method

• Build the base of the electronic device by
  depositing electrodes and an insulating layer
• Expose the insulating layer to highly charged
  ions (Coulomb bombs) creating small, individual
  craters in the insulator
• Deposit upper device structure over the
  irradiated insulator, thereby filling the craters
  with metal
• The layer that was initially an insulator becomes
  a combination of metal and insulator

Patent Pending Application 12/036,729
licensing opportunities available.
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Huge RA product range from one recipe
All points produced from one recipe
Using conventional strategies, each data point
would require the development of a new recipea
huge expense!
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Modified Oxide Read Sensor Performance
MR gt 20 (good signal)
NIST process is compatible with working read
sensors
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Product Development Opportunities

• Specific market opportunity NIST process
  provides variable-RA read sensors like those
  required for high density hard drive sensor
  packages requires a tool
• This example also maps to MRAM industry, and
  other resistance based sensor markets
• While the ultimate customer is likely a large
  magnetic storage company, individual process
  tools are developed and provided by a wide range
  of smaller companies
• Patent Application 12/036,729 licensing
  opportunities available.