Fabrication and characterization of sub-μm magnetic cells for embedded front-end MRAM

In this work we study the magnetic properties of 4-nm-thick permalloy films deposited into flat elliptical holes with an aspect ratio of 2:1 and short axis ranging from 2000 down to 70 nm. The holes are patterned into 50- and 200-nm-thick SiO2 dielectric by e-beam lithography. The magnetization switching characteristics of the embedded magnetic elements were probed by localized magneto-optical Kerr effect and magnetic force microscopy measurements. It is shown that the switching mode, field and distribution depend on the hole depth and very strongly on the element's size, especially when the short axis shrinks below 100 nm. The results are compared with micromagnetic simulations.