title: Probing a Device's Active Atoms.
abstract: Materials science and device studies have, when implemented jointly as "operando" studies, better revealed the causal link between the properties of the device's materials and its operation, with applications ranging from gas sensing to information and energy technologies. Here, as a further step that maximizes this causal link, the paper focuses on the electronic properties of those atoms that drive a device's operation by using it to read out the materials property. It is demonstrated how this method can reveal insight into the operation of a macroscale, industrial-grade microelectronic device on the atomic level. A magnetic tunnel junction's (MTJ's) current, which involves charge transport across different atomic species and interfaces, is measured while these atoms absorb soft X-rays with synchrotron-grade brilliance. X-ray absorption is found to affect magnetotransport when the photon energy and linear polarization are tuned to excite FeO bonds parallel to the MTJ's interfaces. This explicit link between the device's spintronic performance and these FeO bonds, although predicted, challenges conventional wisdom on their detrimental spintronic impact. The technique opens interdisciplinary possibilities to directly probe the role of different atomic species on device operation, and shall considerably simplify the materials science iterations within device research.
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.|Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, BP 48, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Wolfgang-Gaede-Str. 1, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany.
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authors.affiliation: Institut Jean Lamour UMR 7198 CNRS, Université de Lorraine, BP 70239, 54506, Vandoeuvre les Nancy Cedex, France.
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authors.affiliation: Institut Jean Lamour UMR 7198 CNRS, Université de Lorraine, BP 70239, 54506, Vandoeuvre les Nancy Cedex, France.
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authors.affiliation: Institut Jean Lamour UMR 7198 CNRS, Université de Lorraine, BP 70239, 54506, Vandoeuvre les Nancy Cedex, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Institut Jean Lamour UMR 7198 CNRS, Université de Lorraine, BP 70239, 54506, Vandoeuvre les Nancy Cedex, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.lastname: Joly
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Service de Physique de l'Etat Condensé, CEA-IRAMIS-SPEC (CNRS-MPPU-URA 2464) CEA-Saclay, F-91191, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France.
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, BP 48, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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authors.affiliation: Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, BP 48, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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authors.affiliation: Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, BP 48, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Wolfgang-Gaede-Str. 1, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany.
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authors.affiliation: Institut Jean Lamour UMR 7198 CNRS, Université de Lorraine, BP 70239, 54506, Vandoeuvre les Nancy Cedex, France.
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authors.affiliation: Institut Jean Lamour UMR 7198 CNRS, Université de Lorraine, BP 70239, 54506, Vandoeuvre les Nancy Cedex, France.
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authors.lastname: Monteblanco
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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authors.affiliation: Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, BP 48, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
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authors.lastname: Ohresser
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Eric
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authors.lastname: Beaurepaire
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Mébarek
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authors.lastname: Alouani
authors.affiliation: Institut Jean Lamour UMR 7198 CNRS, Université de Lorraine, BP 70239, 54506, Vandoeuvre les Nancy Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Michel
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authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
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keywords: X-ray absorption spectroscopy; atom probe; microelectronic devices; operando measurements; spintronics