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

Title: Spin transport and spin torque in antiferromagnetic devices

Journal Article · · Nature Physics
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Dresden (Germany); Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Praha (Czech Republic)
  2. Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Praha (Czech Republic)
  3. Univ. of Nottingham (United Kingdom). School of Physics and Astronomy
  4. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Materials Science Division
  5. Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan). Center for Spintronics Integrated Systems, Center for Innovative Integrated Electronic Systems, Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics, Research Institute of Electrical Communication and WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research

Ferromagnets are key materials for sensing and memory applications. In contrast, antiferromagnets which represent the more common form of magnetically ordered materials, have found less practical application beyond their use for establishing reference magnetic orientations via exchange bias. This might change in the future due to the recent progress in materials research and discoveries of antiferromagnetic spintronic phenomena suitable for device applications. Experimental demonstration of the electrical switching and detection of the Néel order open a route towards memory devices based on antiferromagnets. Apart from the radiation and magnetic-field hardness, memory cells fabricated from antiferromagnets can be inherently multilevel, which could be used for neuromorphic computing. Switching speeds attainable in antiferromagnets far exceed those of ferromagnetic and semiconductor memory technologies. Here we review the recent progress in electronic spin-transport and spin-torque phenomena in antiferromagnets that are dominantly of the relativistic quantum mechanical origin. We discuss their utility in pure antiferromagnetic or hybrid ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic memory devices.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1429310
Journal Information:
Nature Physics, Vol. 14, Issue 3; ISSN 1745-2473
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group (NPG)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 226 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (118)

BiFeO 3 epitaxial thin films and devices: past, present and future journal October 2014
Spin-transfer interactions in exchange-biased spin valves journal April 2009
Spin-Torque Switching with the Giant Spin Hall Effect of Tantalum journal May 2012
Device-size dependence of field-free spin-orbit torque induced magnetization switching in antiferromagnet/ferromagnet structures journal February 2017
Writing and reading antiferromagnetic Mn2Au by Néel spin-orbit torques and large anisotropic magnetoresistance journal January 2018
Point-contact search for antiferromagnetic giant magnetoresistance journal April 2009
Strain driven anisotropic magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic La 0.4 Sr 0.6 MnO 3 journal August 2014
Spin Hall Effects in Metals journal October 2013
Non-collinear antiferromagnets and the anomalous Hall effect journal December 2014
Conductance and exchange coupling of two ferromagnets separated by a tunneling barrier journal April 1989
Current-Induced Spin Polarization in Strained Semiconductors journal October 2004
Multiple-stable anisotropic magnetoresistance memory in antiferromagnetic MnTe journal June 2016
Spin transfer torques journal April 2008
Spin-transfer pulse switching: From the dynamic to the thermally activated regime journal December 2010
All-electrical manipulation of magnetization dynamics in a ferromagnet by antiferromagnets with anisotropic spin Hall effects journal October 2015
Current-Induced Switching of Perpendicularly Magnetized Magnetic Layers Using Spin Torque from the Spin Hall Effect journal August 2012
Spin transfer torque in antiferromagnetic spin valves: From clean to disordered regimes journal May 2014
Current-Induced Torques Due to Compensated Antiferromagnets journal May 2008
Planar Hall effect in Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 /IrMn films journal December 2014
First-principles spin-transfer torque in CuMnAs | GaP | CuMnAs junctions journal February 2017
Ultrafast magnetization switching by spin-orbit torques journal November 2014
Giant magnetic tunneling effect in Fe/Al2O3/Fe junction journal January 1995
Perpendicular switching of a single ferromagnetic layer induced by in-plane current injection journal August 2011
Ultra-Fast and High-Reliability SOT-MRAM: From Cache Replacement to Normally-Off Computing journal January 2016
Giant Magnetoresistance of (001)Fe/(001)Cr Magnetic Superlattices journal November 1988
Spin-Polarized Current in Noncollinear Antiferromagnets journal November 2017
Anti-Ferromagnet Controlled Tunneling Magnetoresistance journal August 2014
Room-Temperature Perpendicular Exchange Coupling and Tunneling Anisotropic Magnetoresistance in an Antiferromagnet-Based Tunnel Junction journal September 2012
Antiferromagnetic opto-spintronics journal March 2018
Electrical switching of an antiferromagnet journal January 2016
Strong spin Hall effect in the antiferromagnet PtMn journal June 2016
Experimental Observation of the Spin-Hall Effect in a Two-Dimensional Spin-Orbit Coupled Semiconductor System journal February 2005
Theory of nonequilibrium intrinsic spin torque in a single nanomagnet journal December 2008
Analogue spin–orbit torque device for artificial-neural-network-based associative memory operation journal December 2016
Spin-Transfer Torques in Antiferromagnetic Metals from First Principles journal June 2008
Spin Pumping and Spin-Transfer Torques in Antiferromagnets journal July 2014
Spin-orbit coupling induced anisotropy effects in bimetallic antiferromagnets: A route towards antiferromagnetic spintronics journal June 2010
Field-free switching of perpendicular magnetization through spin–orbit torque in antiferromagnet/ferromagnet/oxide structures journal July 2016
Spin–orbit-driven ferromagnetic resonance journal May 2011
Phenomenology of Current-Induced Dynamics in Antiferromagnets journal March 2011
Evidence for reversible control of magnetization in a ferromagnetic material by means of spin–orbit magnetic field journal August 2009
Symmetry and the macroscopic dynamics of antiferromagnetic materials in the presence of spin-polarized current journal April 2012
Impact of in-plane currents on magnetoresistance properties of an exchange-biased spin valve with an insulating antiferromagnetic layer journal April 2008
Current-induced torques between ferromagnets and compensated antiferromagnets: Symmetry and phase coherence effects journal February 2014
Antiferromagnetic spin textures and dynamics journal March 2018
Imaging Current-Induced Switching of Antiferromagnetic Domains in CuMnAs journal January 2017
Anomalous Hall Effect Arising from Noncollinear Antiferromagnetism journal January 2014
Robust spin transfer torque in antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions journal April 2017
Emission of spin waves by a magnetic multilayer traversed by a current journal October 1996
Antiferromagnetic Domain Wall Motion Driven by Spin-Orbit Torques journal August 2016
Spin-orbit torques in perpendicularly magnetized Ir22Mn78/Co20Fe60B20/MgO multilayer journal November 2016
The emergence of spin electronics in data storage journal November 2007
Magnetization switching by spin–orbit torque in an antiferromagnet–ferromagnet bilayer system journal February 2016
A spin-valve-like magnetoresistance of an antiferromagnet-based tunnel junction journal March 2011
Large inverse spin Hall effect in the antiferromagnetic metal Ir 20 Mn 80 journal April 2014
Spin Hall Effects in Metallic Antiferromagnets journal November 2014
Large anomalous Hall effect in a non-collinear antiferromagnet at room temperature journal October 2015
Spin-dependent transport in antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions journal September 2014
Effect of Polarized Current on the Magnetic State of an Antiferromagnet journal July 2007
Spin-orbit torques in locally and globally noncentrosymmetric crystals: Antiferromagnets and ferromagnets journal January 2017
Spin diffusion and torques in disordered antiferromagnets journal February 2017
Purely antiferromagnetic magnetoelectric random access memory journal January 2017
Storing magnetic information in IrMn/MgO/Ta tunnel junctions via field-cooling journal May 2013
Enhanced magnetoresistance in layered magnetic structures with antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange journal March 1989
Current-induced spin polarization at a single heterojunction journal December 2004
Large Magnetoresistance at Room Temperature in Ferromagnetic Thin Film Tunnel Junctions journal April 1995
Large anomalous Hall effect driven by a nonvanishing Berry curvature in the noncolinear antiferromagnet Mn 3 Ge journal April 2016
Inelastic scattering in ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin valves journal January 2007
Room-temperature spin–orbit torque in NiMnSb journal May 2016
Exchange bias in nanostructures journal December 2005
Spin Hall effects journal October 2015
Anisotropic magnetoresistance in an antiferromagnetic semiconductor journal September 2014
Electrical manipulation of ferromagnetic NiFe by antiferromagnetic IrMn journal December 2015
Influence of a transport current on magnetic anisotropy in gyrotropic ferromagnets journal October 2009
Room-temperature antiferromagnetic memory resistor journal January 2014
Magnetoresistance effect in antiferromagnet/nonmagnet/antiferromagnet multilayers journal October 2009
Antiferromagnetic metal spintronics journal August 2011
Antiferromagnetic CuMnAs multi-level memory cell with microelectronic compatibility journal May 2017
Optical determination of the Néel vector in a CuMnAs thin-film antiferromagnet journal January 2017
Ab initio giant magnetoresistance and current-induced torques in Cr Au Cr multilayers journal May 2007
Spin-transfer torques in antiferromagnetic textures: Efficiency and quantification method journal August 2016
Sequential write-read operations in FeRh antiferromagnetic memory journal September 2015
Spin transfer and current-induced switching in antiferromagnets journal April 2010
Theory of spin torques and giant magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic metals journal June 2006
Spin polarization of conduction electrons induced by electric current in two-dimensional asymmetric electron systems journal January 1990
Tuning the direction of exchange bias in ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic bilayer by angular-dependent spin-polarized current journal October 2012
Current-induced torques in structures with ultrathin IrMn antiferromagnets journal October 2015
Relativistic Néel-Order Fields Induced by Electrical Current in Antiferromagnets journal October 2014
Changing Exchange Bias in Spin Valves with an Electric Current journal March 2007
Magnetoresistive memory technology journal August 1992
Inverse spin Hall effect in Cr: Independence of antiferromagnetic ordering journal July 2015
High Antiferromagnetic Domain Wall Velocity Induced by Néel Spin-Orbit Torques journal June 2016
Changing and reversing the exchange bias in a current-in-plane spin valve by means of an electric current journal September 2007
Piezo-magnetoelectric effects in p -doped semiconductors journal July 2005
Current-induced torques in magnetic metals: Beyond spin-transfer journal April 2008
Spin torque control of antiferromagnetic moments in NiO journal September 2018
Large anomalous Hall effect in a non-collinear antiferromagnet at room temperature journal June 2016
Antiferromagnetic opto-spintronics text January 2018
Antiferromagnetic Domain Wall Motion Driven by Spin-orbit Torques conference September 2016
Current-Induced Spin Polarization at a Single Heterojunction
  • Silov, A. Yu.
  • PHYSICS OF SEMICONDUCTORS: 27th International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors - ICPS-27, AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1994640
conference January 2005
Purely antiferromagnetic magnetoelectric random access memory other January 2017
Antiferromagnetic CuMnAs multi-level memory cell with microelectronic compatibility text January 2017
Spin-transfer torques in anti-ferromagnetic metals from first principles text January 2007
Current-induced torques due to compensated antiferromagnets text January 2007
Point-contact search for antiferromagnetic giant magnetoresistance preprint January 2007
Evidence for reversible control of magnetization in a ferromagnetic material via spin-orbit magnetic field text January 2008
Influence of a Transport Current on Magnetic Anisotropy in Gyrotropic Ferromagnets text January 2009
Spin-orbit coupling induced anisotropy effects in bimetallic antiferromagnets: A route towards antiferromagnetic spintronics text January 2010
Anomalous Hall effect arising from noncollinear antiferromagnetism text January 2013
Strain driven anisotropic magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic La$_{0.4}$Sr$_{0.6}$MnO$_{3}$ text January 2014
Non-collinear Antiferromagnets and the Anomalous Hall Effect text January 2014
Magnetization switching by spin-orbit torque in an antiferromagnet/ferromagnet bilayer system text January 2015
Multiple-stable anisotropic magnetoresistance memory in antiferromagnetic MnTe text January 2015
Spin-orbit torques in locally and globally non-centrosymmetric crystals: Antiferromagnets and ferromagnets text January 2016
Spin diffusion and torques in disordered antiferromagnets text January 2016
Optical determination of the Neel vector in a CuMnAs thin-film antiferromagnet text January 2016
Purely Antiferromagnetic Magnetoelectric Random Access Memory text January 2016
Piezo-Magneto-Electric Effects in p-Doped Semiconductors text January 2004

Cited By (48)

The Biaxial Strain Dependence of Magnetic Order in Spin Frustrated Mn 3 NiN Thin Films journal August 2019
Electric‐Field‐Controlled Antiferromagnetic Spintronic Devices journal March 2020
Electric-Field Control of Magnetic Order: From FeRh to Topological Antiferromagnetic Spintronics journal November 2018
Antiferromagnetic Piezospintronics journal April 2019
Antiferromagnetism and p‐type conductivity of nonstoichiometric nickel oxide thin films journal January 2020
Manipulation of Magnetization by Spin-Orbit Torque journal October 2018
Oxidation-induced stress in Si nanopillars journal May 2019
Electrically induced and detected Néel vector reversal in a collinear antiferromagnet journal November 2018
Giant anisotropic magnetoresistance and nonvolatile memory in canted antiferromagnet Sr2IrO4 journal May 2019
Staggered field driven domain walls motion in antiferromagnetic heterojunctions journal September 2018
Angle dependent magnetoresistance in heterostructures with antiferromagnetic and non-magnetic metals journal November 2018
Switching of biaxial synthetic antiferromagnets: A micromagentic study journal December 2018
Spin-dependent scattering and magnetic proximity effect in Ni-doped Co/Cu multilayers as a probe of atomic magnetism journal January 2019
Spin-orbit torque-induced magnetization switching in epitaxial Au/Fe 4 N bilayer films journal March 2019
Half-wave rectification of ac-magnetic-field effects by mixing thermal spin and charge currents in a NiO/Pt nanostructure journal August 2019
Shape-imposed anisotropy in antiferromagnetic complex oxide nanostructures journal September 2019
Non-magnetic origin of spin Hall magnetoresistance-like signals in Pt films and epitaxial NiO/Pt bilayers journal January 2020
Tuning Interfacial Spins in Antiferromagnetic–Ferromagnetic–Heavy-Metal Heterostructures via Spin-Orbit Torque journal January 2020
All-oxide ferromagnetic resonance and spin pumping with SrIr O 3 journal September 2019
Optical injection of spin current into a zigzag nanoribbon of monolayer MoS 2 with antiferromagnetic Kekule distortion journal November 2019
Spin-orbit torques in a Rashba honeycomb antiferromagnet journal December 2019
Ultrafast domain wall motion in ferrimagnets induced by magnetic anisotropy gradient journal January 2020
Hybrid quantum anomalous Hall effect at graphene-oxide interfaces journal October 2018
Imaging of current induced Néel vector switching in antiferromagnetic Mn 2 Au journal April 2019
Antiferromagnetic spin valve based on a heterostructure of two-dimensional hexagonal crystals journal April 2019
Evaluation of spin diffusion length and spin Hall angle of the antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Mn 3 Sn journal May 2019
Anomalous Antiferromagnetism in Metallic RuO 2 Determined by Resonant X-ray Scattering journal January 2019
Mechanism of Néel Order Switching in Antiferromagnetic Thin Films Revealed by Magnetotransport and Direct Imaging journal October 2019
Electrical Switching of Tristate Antiferromagnetic Néel Order in α Fe 2 O 3 Epitaxial Films journal January 2020
Spin Seebeck Imaging of Spin-Torque Switching in Antiferromagnetic Pt / NiO Heterostructures journal October 2019
Influence of the thickness of an antiferromagnetic IrMn layer on the static and dynamic magnetization of weakly coupled CoFeB/IrMn/CoFeB trilayers journal January 2018
The J eff = 1/2 Antiferromagnet Sr 2 IrO 4 : A Golden Avenue toward New Physics and Functions journal October 2019
Spin pumping during the antiferromagnetic–ferromagnetic phase transition of iron–rhodium journal January 2020
Magneto-Seebeck effect in Co 2 FeAl/MgO/Co 2 FeAl: first-principles calculations journal January 2019
Coupling of magnetic orders in a 4f metal/oxide system journal January 2018
Orientation-dependent THz emission in non-collinear antiferromagnetic Mn 3 Sn and Mn 3 Sn-based heterostructures journal October 2019
Current-Induced Domain Wall Motion in a Compensated Ferrimagnet journal July 2018
Low Magnetic Damping of Ferrimagnetic GdFeCo Alloys journal March 2019
From Fieldlike Torque to Antidamping Torque in Antiferromagnetic Mn 2 Au journal May 2019
Spin-Orbit-Torque Switching Mediated by an Antiferromagnetic Insulator journal April 2019
Tunable long-distance spin transport in a crystalline antiferromagnetic iron oxide journal September 2018
Imaging antiferromagnetic domains in nickel oxide thin films by optical birefringence effect journal October 2019
Dynamic magnetostriction for antiferromagnets journal December 2019
Low magnetic damping of ferrimagnetic GdFeCo alloys text January 2018
Staggered field driven domain walls motion in antiferromagnetic heterojunctions text January 2018
Antiferromagnetic spin valve from heterostructure of two-dimensional hexagonal crystals text January 2018
Electric-Field Control of Magnetic Order: From FeRh to Topological Antiferromagnetic Spintronics text January 2018
Tuning interfacial spins in antiferromagnetic / ferromagnetic / heavy metal heterostructures via spin-orbit torque text January 2019

Figures / Tables (5)