skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Voltage-driven spin-transfer torque in a magnetic particle

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4934837· OSTI ID:22485965
;  [1]
  1. School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, 837 State Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States)

We discuss a spin-transfer torque device, where the role of the soft ferromagnetic layer is played by a magnetic particle or a magnetic molecule, in weak tunnel contact with two spin polarized leads. We investigate if the magnetization of the particle can be manipulated electronically, in the regime where the critical current for magnetization switching is negligibly weak, which could be due to the reduced particle dimensions. Using master equation simulations to evaluate the effects of spin-orbit anisotropy energy fluctuations on spin-transfer, we obtain reliable reading and writing of the magnetization state of such magnetic particle, and find that the device relies on a critical voltage rather than a critical current. The critical voltage is governed by the spin-orbit energy shifts of discrete levels in the particle. This finding opens a possibility to significantly reduce the power dissipation involved in spin-transfer torque switching, by using very small magnetic particles or molecules.

OSTI ID:
22485965
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 17; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Cited By (1)

Long spin lifetime and large barrier polarisation in single electron transport through a CoFe nanoparticle journal June 2016