Evaluating mechanical strain in state-of-the-art STT-MRAM

In this master thesis, the student will make use of the nano-indenter to experimentally study the effect of strain in MRAM devices (see Figure 1). He will evaluate the impact indenting devices has on switching, breakdown and the magnetic properties for in-house-built state-of-the-art devices. In order to quantify the indentation, the student will do some modeling work with e.g. comsol multiphysics. This project allows the student to not only learn the physics behind STT-MRAM, but also to evaluate with experiments/modeling what happens if we press it. The student will be closely guided by a team of MRAM experts. The outcome of this project can lead to further development and engineering of stress/strain in spintronics.

Figure 1: Schematic of simulation of the stress by the diamond tip of the nano-indenter in the MRAM device