Effect of rare earth metal on the spin-orbit torque in magnetic heterostructures

Journal Article · Mon Jun 06 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4953348· OSTI ID:22590753

Ueda, Kohei; Pai, Chi-Feng; Tan, Aik Jun; Mann, Maxwell; Beach, Geoffrey S. D., ^[1]

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1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

We report the effect of the rare earth metal Gd on current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) in perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/Gd heterostructures, characterized using harmonic measurements and spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR). By varying the Gd metal layer thickness from 0 nm to 8 nm, harmonic measurements reveal a significant enhancement of the effective fields generated from the Slonczewski-like and field-like torques. ST-FMR measurements confirm an enhanced effective spin Hall angle and show a corresponding increase in the magnetic damping constant with increasing Gd thickness. These results suggest that Gd plays an active role in generating SOTs in these heterostructures. Our finding may lead to spin-orbitronics device application such as non-volatile magnetic random access memory, based on rare earth metals.

• OSTI ID: 22590753
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 108, Issue 23; Other Information: (c) 2016 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
DAMPING
EQUIPMENT
FERROMAGNETIC RESONANCE
LAYERS
RANDOMNESS
RARE EARTHS
THICKNESS
TORQUE
VOLATILITY