Spin-transfer assisted thermally activated switching distributions in perpendicularly magnetized spin valve nanopillars

We present switching field distributions of spin-transfer assisted magnetization reversal in perpendicularly magnetized Co/Ni multilayer spin-valve nanopillars at room temperature. Switching field measurements of the Co/Ni free layer of spin-valve nanopillars with a 50 nm x 300 nm ellipse cross section were conducted as a function of current. The validity of a model that assumes a spin-current dependent effective barrier for thermally activated reversal is tested by measuring switching field distributions under applied direct currents. We show that the switching field distributions deviate significantly from the double exponential shape predicted by the effective barrier model, beginning at applied currents as low as half of the zero field critical current. Barrier heights extracted from switching field distributions for currents below this threshold are a monotonic function of the current. However, the thermally-induced switching model breaks down for currents exceeding the critical threshold.

Temperature dependent nucleation and propagation of domain walls in a sub-100 nm perpendicularly magnetized Co/Ni multilayer

We present a study of the temperature dependence of the switching fields in Co/Ni-based perpendicularly magnetized spin-valves. While magnetization reversal of all-perpendicular Co/Ni spin valves at ambient temperatures is typically marked by a single sharp step change in resistance, low temperature measurements can reveal a series of resistance steps, consistent with non-uniform magnetization configurations. We propose a model that consists of domain nucleation, propagation and annihilation to explain the temperature dependence of the switching fields. Interestingly, low temperature (<30 K) step changes in resistance that we associate with domain nucleation, have a bimodal switching field and resistance step distribution, attributable to two competing nucleation pathways.