Field-free spin-orbit torque switching assisted by in-plane unconventional spin torque in ultrathin [Pt/Co]N
Abstract
Electrical manipulation of magnetization without an external magnetic field is critical for the development of advanced non-volatile magnetic-memory technology that can achieve high memory density and low energy consumption. Several recent studies have revealed efficient out-of-plane spin-orbit torques (SOTs) in a variety of materials for field-free type-z SOT switching. Here, we report on the corresponding type-x configuration, showing significant in-plane unconventional spin polarizations from sputtered ultrathin [Pt/Co]N, which are either highly textured on single crystalline MgO substrates or randomly textured on SiO2 coated Si substrates. The unconventional spin currents generated in the low-dimensional Co films result from the strong orbital magnetic moment, which has been observed by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurement. The x-polarized spin torque efficiency reaches up to −0.083 and favors complete field-free switching of CoFeB magnetized along the in-plane charge current direction. Micromagnetic simulations additionally demonstrate its lower switching current than type-y switching, especially in narrow current pulses. Our work provides additional pathways for electrical manipulation of spintronic devices in the pursuit of high-speed, high-density, and low-energy non-volatile memory.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[3];
[3];
[4];
[2];
[1]
- Stanford University, CA (United States)
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsinchu (Taiwan)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)
- Stanford University, CA (United States); Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF); TSMC University Joint Development Program (JDP)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 2229345
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; ECCS- 2026822; SPO135237
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 14; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 42 ENGINEERING; electrical engineering; electronic engineering; information storage
Citation Formats
Xue, Fen, Lin, Shy-Jay, Song, Mingyuan, Hwang, William, Klewe, Christoph, Lee, Chien-Min, Turgut, Emrah, Shafer, Padraic, Vailionis, Arturas, Huang, Yen-Lin, Tsai, Wilman, Bao, Xinyu, and Wang, Shan X. Field-free spin-orbit torque switching assisted by in-plane unconventional spin torque in ultrathin [Pt/Co]N. United States: N. p., 2023.
Web. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-39649-1.
Xue, Fen, Lin, Shy-Jay, Song, Mingyuan, Hwang, William, Klewe, Christoph, Lee, Chien-Min, Turgut, Emrah, Shafer, Padraic, Vailionis, Arturas, Huang, Yen-Lin, Tsai, Wilman, Bao, Xinyu, & Wang, Shan X. Field-free spin-orbit torque switching assisted by in-plane unconventional spin torque in ultrathin [Pt/Co]N. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39649-1
Xue, Fen, Lin, Shy-Jay, Song, Mingyuan, Hwang, William, Klewe, Christoph, Lee, Chien-Min, Turgut, Emrah, Shafer, Padraic, Vailionis, Arturas, Huang, Yen-Lin, Tsai, Wilman, Bao, Xinyu, and Wang, Shan X. Tue .
"Field-free spin-orbit torque switching assisted by in-plane unconventional spin torque in ultrathin [Pt/Co]N". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39649-1. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2229345.
@article{osti_2229345,
title = {Field-free spin-orbit torque switching assisted by in-plane unconventional spin torque in ultrathin [Pt/Co]N},
author = {Xue, Fen and Lin, Shy-Jay and Song, Mingyuan and Hwang, William and Klewe, Christoph and Lee, Chien-Min and Turgut, Emrah and Shafer, Padraic and Vailionis, Arturas and Huang, Yen-Lin and Tsai, Wilman and Bao, Xinyu and Wang, Shan X.},
abstractNote = {Electrical manipulation of magnetization without an external magnetic field is critical for the development of advanced non-volatile magnetic-memory technology that can achieve high memory density and low energy consumption. Several recent studies have revealed efficient out-of-plane spin-orbit torques (SOTs) in a variety of materials for field-free type-z SOT switching. Here, we report on the corresponding type-x configuration, showing significant in-plane unconventional spin polarizations from sputtered ultrathin [Pt/Co]N, which are either highly textured on single crystalline MgO substrates or randomly textured on SiO2 coated Si substrates. The unconventional spin currents generated in the low-dimensional Co films result from the strong orbital magnetic moment, which has been observed by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurement. The x-polarized spin torque efficiency reaches up to −0.083 and favors complete field-free switching of CoFeB magnetized along the in-plane charge current direction. Micromagnetic simulations additionally demonstrate its lower switching current than type-y switching, especially in narrow current pulses. Our work provides additional pathways for electrical manipulation of spintronic devices in the pursuit of high-speed, high-density, and low-energy non-volatile memory.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-023-39649-1},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = 1,
volume = 14,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jul 04 00:00:00 EDT 2023},
month = {Tue Jul 04 00:00:00 EDT 2023}
}
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