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Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a prototypical high-quality two-dimensionalinsulator and an ideal material to study tunneling phenomena, as it can beeasily integrated in vertical van der Waals devices. For spintronic devices,its potential has been demonstrated both for efficient spin injection inlateral spin valves and as a barrier in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). Herewe reveal the effect of point defects inevitably present in mechanicallyexfoliated hBN on the tunnel magnetoresistance of Co-hBN-NiFe MTJs. We observea clear enhancement of both the conductance and magnetoresistance of thejunction at well-defined bias voltages, indicating resonant tunneling throughmagnetic (spin-polarized) defect states. The spin polarization of the defectstates is attributed to exchange coupling of a paramagnetic impurity in thefew-atomic-layer thick hBN to the ferromagnetic electrodes. This is confirmedby excellent agreement with theoretical modelling. Our findings should be takeninto account in analyzing tunneling processes in hBN-based magnetic devices.More generally, our study shows the potential of using atomically thin hBNbarriers with defects to engineer the magnetoresistance of MTJs and to achievespin filtering, opening the door towards exploiting the spin degree of freedomin current studies of point defects as quantum emitters.

Magnetoresistance in Co-hBN-NiFe tunnel junctions enhanced by resonant tunneling through single defects in ultrathin hBN barriers