Control of ferromagnetic resonance by phase change in Si/GeSbTe/FeCoB heterostructures

Abstract Phase-change materials (PCMs) provide an alternative avenue for modulating the adjacent layer property through interfacial effect, which sometimes is more effective than the traditional methods. Here, a systematic study of the phase-change induced control of FMR resonance field in Si/GeSbTe/FeCoB heterostructures is presented. We show that different crystalline phases induced by thermal anneal in GeSbTe/FeCoB films contribute to large shifts in resonance field of FeCoB up to 15 mT. The correlation between GeSbTe phase change and anisotropic field of FeCoB is confirmed from the GeSbTe film morphology dependent of stress. These results propose a method of phase-change induced control of FMR resonant field and ferromagnetism in PCM/ferromagnetic alloy film heterostructures by controlling interface roughness, which can be introduced in the optimization of ferromagnetic alloy film parameters and development of high functioning magnetic devices.