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Register a new userSpin-orbit torque in Cr/CoFeAl/MgO and Ru/CoFeAl/MgO epitaxial magnetic heterostructures
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We study the spin-orbit torque (SOT) effective fields in Cr/CoFeAl/MgO and Ru/CoFeAl/MgO magnetic heterostructures using the adiabatic harmonic Hall measurement. High-quality perpendicular-magnetic-anisotropy CoFeAl layers were grown on Cr and Ru layers. The magnitudes of the SOT effective fields were found to significantly depend on the underlayer material (Cr or Ru) as well as their thicknesses. The damping-like longitudinal effective field ({Delta}H_L) increases with increasing underlayer thickness for all heterostructures. In contrast, the field-like transverse effective field ({Delta}H_T) increases with increasing Ru thickness while it is almost constant or slightly decreases with increasing Cr thickness. The sign of {Delta}H_L observed in the Cr-underlayer devices is opposite from that in the Ru-underlayer devices while {Delta}H_T shows the same sign with a small magnitude. The opposite directions of {Delta}HL indicate that the signs of spin Hall angle in Cr and Ru are opposite, which are in good agreement with theoretical predictions. These results show sizable contribution from SOT even for elements with small spin orbit coupling such as 3d Cr and 4d Ru.
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Spin-orbit torque facilitates efficient magnetization switching via an in-plane current in perpendicularly magnetized heavy metal/ferromagnet heterostructures. The efficiency of spin-orbit-torque-induced switching is determined by the charge-to-spin conversion arising from either bulk or interfacial spin-orbit interactions, or both. Here, we demonstrate that the spin-orbit torque and the resultant switching efficiency in Pt/CoFeB systems are significantly enhanced by an interfacial modification involving Ti insertion between the Pt and CoFeB layers. Spin pumping and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism experiments reveal that this enhancement is due to an additional interface-generated spin current of the nonmagnetic interface and/or improved spin transparency achieved by suppressing the proximity-induced moment in the Pt layer. Our results demonstrate that interface engineering affords an effective approach to improve spin-orbit torque and thereby magnetization switching efficiency.
Spin current generated by spin Hall effect in the heavy metal would diffuse up and down to adjacent ferromagnetic layers and exert torque on their magnetization, called spin-orbit torque. Antiferromagnetically coupled trilayers, namely the so-called synthetic antiferromagnets (SAF), are usually employed to serve as the pinned layer of spintronic devices based on spin valves and magnetic tunnel junctions to reduce the stray field and/or increase the pinning field. Here we investigate the spin-orbit torque in MgO/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/MgO perpendicularly magnetized multilayer with interlayer antiferromagnetic coupling. It is found that the magnetization of two CoFeB layers can be switched between two antiparallel states simultaneously. This observation is replicated by the theoretical calculations by solving Stoner-Wohlfarth model and Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. Our findings combine spin-orbit torque and interlayer coupling, which might advance the magnetic memories with low stray field and low power consumption.
Voltage control of magnetism and spintronics have been highly desirable, but rarely realized. In this work, we show voltage-controlled spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching in W/CoFeB/MgO films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) with voltage administered through SrTiO3 with a high dielectric constant. We show that a DC voltage can significantly lower PMA by 45%, reduce switching current by 23%, and increase the damping-like torque as revealed by the first and second-harmonic measurements. These are characteristics that are prerequisites for voltage-controlled and voltage-select SOT switching spintronic devices.
A large anti-damping spin-obit torque (SOT) efficiency in magnetic heterostructures is a prerequisite to realize energy efficient spin torque based magnetic memories and logic devices. The efficiency can be characterized in terms of the spin-orbit fields generated by anti-damping torques when an electric current is passed through the non-magnetic layer. We report a giant spin-orbit field of 48.96 (27.50) mT at an applied current density of 1 MAcm-2 in beta-W interfaced Co60Fe40 (Ni81Fe19)/TiN epitaxial structures due to an anti-damping like torque, which results in a magnetization auto-oscillation current density as low as 1.68(3.27) MAcm-2. The spin-orbit field value increases with decrease of beta-W layer thickness, which affirms that epitaxial surface states are responsible for the extraordinary large efficiency. SOT induced energy efficient in-plane magnetization switching in large 20x100 um2 structures has been demonstrated by Kerr microscopy and the findings are supported by results from micromagnetic simulations. The observed giant SOT efficiencies in the studied all-epitaxial heterostructures are comparable to values reported for topological insulators. These results confirm that by utilizing epitaxial material combinations an extraordinary large SOT efficiency can be achieved using semiconducting industry compatible 5d heavy metals, which provides immediate solutions for the realization of energy efficient spin-logic devices.
The structures of epitaxial ultrathin Co2FeAl/MgO(001) heterostructures relating to the interface-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) were investigated using scanning transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. We found that Al atoms from the Co2FeAl layer significantly interdiffuse into MgO, forming an Al-deficient Co-Fe-Al/Mg-Al-O structure near the Co2FeAl/MgO interface. This atomic replacement may play an additional role for enhancing PMA, which is consistent with the observed large perpendicular orbital magnetic moments of Fe atoms at the interface. This work suggests that control of interdiffusion at ferromanget/barrier interfaces is critical for designing an interface-induced PMA system.
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