| abstract |
In the spin torque type magnetic memory having vertical magnetization, the present invention enhances vertical magnetic anisotropy and realizes high information retention characteristics. According to the present invention, the memory element has a magnetization perpendicular to the membrane surface, and has a memory layer 17 which holds information by the magnetization state of the magnetic body, and a membrane surface which serves as a reference for the information stored in the memory layer 17. The magnetization pinned layer 15 having the perpendicular magnetization with respect to the magnetization layer and the intermediate layer 16 made of the nonmagnetic material provided between the memory layer 17 and the magnetized pinned layer 15 are assumed to have an MTJ structure. In this case, the cap layer 18 formed of two or more layers of oxide adjacent to the storage layer 17 on the side opposite to the intermediate layer 16 is provided. |