Abstract
Since the theoretical prediction and experimental observation of giant tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect at room temperature in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with single-crystalline MgO(001) barrier, MgO-based MTJs have been extensively studied due to their broad potential applications in spintronic devices. In this paper, progress on theoretical calculations and experimental results in MgO-based MTJs is reported. Spin-dependent electronic structure and transport properties of MgO-based MTJs, including structures of Fe(001)/MgO/Fe, Fe(001)/FeO/MgO/Fe, Fe(001)/Mg/MgO/Fe, Fe(001)/Co/MgO/Co/Fe, and Fe(001)/MgO/Fe/MgO/Fe, have been studied using the Layer-KKR first-principles method. The quantitative result not only provide a better way to understand the electronic structures and spin-dependent transport properties of MgO-based MTJs, but also shows a direction to exploit new kinds of spintronic materials with high room-temperature TMR ratio.