Tohoku University Assigned Patent

Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan, has been assigned a patent (11,430,498) developed by Saito, Yoshiaki, Ikeda, Shoji, and Endoh, Tetsuo, Miyagi, Japan, for “magnetoresistance effect element, magnetic memory array, magnetic memory device, and write method for magnetoresistance effect element.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The present invention provides a magnetoresistance effect element with a high read operation speed, a magnetic memory array, a magnetic memory device, and a write method for a magnetoresistance effect element. A magnetoresistance effect element includes: a heavy metal layer, a magnetic recording unit including a recording layer that includes a ferromagnetic layer that is magnetized in a vertical direction with respect to a film surface and is provided on a front surface of the heavy metal layer, a barrier layer that is provided on a surface of the recording layer which is opposite to the heavy metal layer and is formed from an insulator, and a reference layer which is provided on a surface of the barrier layer which is opposite to the recording layer, and a magnetization of the reference layer is fixed in the vertical direction with respect to a film surface, an insulating layer that is provided on a surface of the heavy metal layer which is opposite to the magnetic recording unit, a first terminal that is connected to the insulating layer at a position facing the recording layer with the heavy metal layer and the insulating layer interposed therebetween and applies a voltage to the heavy metal layer through the insulating layer, a second terminal that is connected to the reference layer, and a third terminal and a fourth terminal which are connected to the heavy metal layer, and cause a write current to flow to the heavy metal layer between the magnetic recording unit and the insulating layer.”

The patent application was filed on April 10, 2019 (17/052,749).