Field-free spin-orbit torque-induced switching of perpendicular magnetization in a ferrimagnetic layer with a vertical composition gradient.
Journal
Nature communications
ISSN: 2041-1723
Titre abrégé: Nat Commun
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101528555
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
27 Jul 2021
27 Jul 2021
Historique:
received:
01
01
2021
accepted:
09
07
2021
entrez:
28
7
2021
pubmed:
29
7
2021
medline:
29
7
2021
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) are of interest for fast and energy-efficient manipulation of magnetic order in spintronic devices. To be deterministic, however, switching of perpendicularly magnetized materials by SOT requires a mechanism for in-plane symmetry breaking. Existing methods to do so involve the application of an in-plane bias magnetic field, or incorporation of in-plane structural asymmetry in the device, both of which can be difficult to implement in practical applications. Here, we report bias-field-free SOT switching in a single perpendicular CoTb layer with an engineered vertical composition gradient. The vertical structural inversion asymmetry induces strong intrinsic SOTs and a gradient-driven Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (g-DMI), which breaks the in-plane symmetry during the switching process. Micromagnetic simulations are in agreement with experimental results, and elucidate the role of g-DMI in the deterministic switching processes. This bias-field-free switching scheme for perpendicular ferrimagnets with g-DMI provides a strategy for efficient and compact SOT device design.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34315883
doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24854-7
pii: 10.1038/s41467-021-24854-7
pmc: PMC8316453
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
4555Subventions
Organisme : China Scholarship Council (CSC)
ID : 201906020022
Organisme : National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China)
ID : 61971024
Organisme : National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China)
ID : 51901008
Organisme : European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
ID : CA17123
Organisme : European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
ID : CA17123
Organisme : European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
ID : CA17123
Organisme : National Science Foundation (NSF)
ID : NSF ECCS-1853879
Organisme : National Science Foundation (NSF)
ID : NSF DMR-1720319
Organisme : National Science Foundation (NSF)
ID : NSF ECCS-1542205
Informations de copyright
© 2021. The Author(s).
Références
Miron, I. M. et al. Perpendicular switching of a single ferromagnetic layer induced by in-plane current injection. Nature 476, 189–193 (2011).
pubmed: 21804568
doi: 10.1038/nature10309
Liu, L. et al. Spin–torque switching with the giant spin Hall effect of tantalum. Science 336, 555–558 (2012).
pubmed: 22556245
doi: 10.1126/science.1218197
Emori, S., Bauer, U., Ahn, S. M., Martinez, E. & Beach, G. S. Current-driven dynamics of chiral ferromagnetic domain walls. Nat. Mater. 12, 611–616 (2013).
pubmed: 23770726
doi: 10.1038/nmat3675
Shi, J. et al. Electrical manipulation of the magnetic order in antiferromagnetic PtMn pillars. Nat. Electron. 3, 92–98 (2020).
doi: 10.1038/s41928-020-0367-2
Cai, K. et al. Ultrafast and energy-efficient spin–orbit torque switching in compensated ferrimagnets. Nat. Electron. 3, 37–42 (2020).
doi: 10.1038/s41928-019-0345-8
Siddiqui, S. A. et al. Current-induced domain wall motion in a compensated ferrimagnet. Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 057701 (2018).
pubmed: 30118301
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.057701
Kim, K. et al. Fast domain wall motion in the vicinity of the angular momentum compensation temperature of ferrimagnets. Nat. Mater. 16, 1187–1192 (2017).
pubmed: 28967917
doi: 10.1038/nmat4990
Zheng, Z. et al. Enhanced spin-orbit torque and multilevel current-induced switching in W/Co-Tb/Pt heterostructure. Phys. Rev. Appl. 12, 044032 (2019).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.12.044032
Finley, J. & Liu, L. Spin-orbit-torque efficiency in compensated ferrimagnetic cobalt-terbium alloys. Phys. Rev. Appl 6, 054001 (2016).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.6.054001
Liu, L., Lee, O. J., Gudmundsen, T. J., Ralph, D. C. & Buhrman, R. A. Current-induced switching of perpendicularly magnetized magnetic layers using spin torque from the spin Hall effect. Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 096602 (2012).
pubmed: 23002867
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.096602
Han, J. et al. Room-temperature spin-orbit torque switching induced by a topological insulator. Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 077702 (2017).
pubmed: 28949690
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.077702
Zheng, Z. et al. Perpendicular magnetization switching by large spin orbit torques from sputtered Bi
doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/ab9439
Cui, B. et al. Field-Free Spin-orbit torque switching of perpendicular magnetization by the Rashba interface. ACS Appl. Mater. Inter. 11, 39369–39375 (2019).
doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b13622
Oh, Y. W. et al. Field-free switching of perpendicular magnetization through spin-orbit torque in antiferromagnet/ferromagnet/oxide structures. Nat. Nanotechnol. 11, 878–884 (2016).
pubmed: 27428279
doi: 10.1038/nnano.2016.109
van den Brink, A. et al. Field-free magnetization reversal by spin-Hall effect and exchange bias. Nat. Commun. 7, 1–6 (2016).
Fukami, S., Zhang, C., DuttaGupta, S., Kurenkov, A. & Ohno, H. Magnetization switching by spin–orbit torque in an antiferromagnet–ferromagnet bilayer system. Nat. Mater. 15, 535–541 (2016).
pubmed: 26878314
doi: 10.1038/nmat4566
Lau, Y. C. et al. Spin–orbit torque switching without an external field using interlayer exchange coupling. Nat. Nanotechnol. 11, 758–762 (2016).
pubmed: 27240416
doi: 10.1038/nnano.2016.84
Liu, Y., Zhou, B. & Zhu, J. G. J. Field-free magnetization switching by utilizing the spin Hall effect and interlayer exchange coupling of iridium. Sci. Rep. 9, 1–7 (2019).
Yu, G. et al. Switching of perpendicular magnetization by spin–orbit torques in the absence of external magnetic fields. Nat. Nanotechnol. 9, 548 (2014).
pubmed: 24813694
doi: 10.1038/nnano.2014.94
Razavi, A. et al. Deterministic spin-orbit torque switching by a light-metal insertion. Nano Lett. 20, 3703–3709 (2020).
pubmed: 32227904
doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c00647
Chen, T. Y., Chan, H. I., Liao, W. B. & Pai, C. F. Current induced spin-orbit torque and field-free switching in Mo-based magnetic heterostructures. Phys. Rev. Appl. 10, 044038 (2018).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.10.044038
Cao, Y. et al. Deterministic magnetization switching using lateral spin-orbit torque. Adv. Mater. 32, 1907929 (2020).
doi: 10.1002/adma.201907929
Luo, Z. et al. Chirally coupled nanomagnets. Science 363, 1435–1439 (2019).
pubmed: 30923219
doi: 10.1126/science.aau7913
You, L. et al. Switching of perpendicularly polarized nanomagnets with spin orbit torque without an external magnetic field by engineering a tilted anisotropy. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 112, 10310 (2015).
pubmed: 26240358
pmcid: 4547225
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1507474112
Wu, H. et al. Chiral symmetry breaking for deterministic switching of perpendicular magnetization by spin-orbit torque. Nano Lett. 21, 515–521(2020).
Ma, Q. et al. Switching a perpendicular ferromagnetic layer by competing spin currents. Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 117703 (2018).
pubmed: 29601763
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.117703
Cai, K. et al. Electric field control of deterministic current-induced magnetization switching in a hybrid ferromagnetic/ferroelectric structure. Nat. Mater. 16, 712–716 (2017).
pubmed: 28369053
doi: 10.1038/nmat4886
Wang, M. et al. Field-free switching of a perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction through the interplay of spin–orbit and spin-transfer torques. Nat. Electron. 1, 582–588 (2018).
doi: 10.1038/s41928-018-0160-7
Dzialoshinskii, I. E. Thermodynamic theory of ‘weak’ ferromagnetism in antiferromagnetic substances. Sov. Phys. JETP 5, 1259–1272 (1957).
Moriya, T. Anisotropic super exchange interaction and weak ferromagnetism. Phys. Rev. 120, 91–98 (1960).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRev.120.91
Je, S. G. et al. Asymmetric magnetic domain-wall motion by the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction. Phys. Rev. B 88, 214401 (2013).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.88.214401
Rößler, U. K., Bogdanov, A. N. & Pfleiderer, C. Spontaneous skyrmion ground states in magnetic metals. Nature 442, 797–801 (2006).
pubmed: 16915285
doi: 10.1038/nature05056
Chen, B., Lourembam, J., Goolaup, S. & Lim, S. T. Field-free spin-orbit torque switching of a perpendicular ferromagnet with Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction. Appl. Phys. Lett. 114, 022401 (2019).
doi: 10.1063/1.5052194
Wu, K., Su, D., Saha, R. & Wang, J. P. Deterministic field-free switching of a perpendicularly magnetized ferromagnetic layer via the joint effects of the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction and damping-and field-like spin–orbit torques: an appraisal. J. Phys. D. Appl. Phys. 53, 205002 (2020).
doi: 10.1088/1361-6463/ab7511
Dai, M. & Hu, J. M. Field-free spin–orbit torque perpendicular magnetization switching in ultrathin nanostructures. NPJ Comput. Mater. 6, 1–10 (2020).
doi: 10.1038/s41524-020-0347-0
Kim, D. H. et al. Bulk Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction in amorphous ferrimagnetic alloys. Nat. Mater. 18, 685 (2019).
pubmed: 31133731
doi: 10.1038/s41563-019-0380-x
Burzo, E., Chioncel, L., Tetean, R. & Isnard, O. On the R 5d band polarization in rare-earth–transition metal compounds. J. Phys. Condens. Matter 23, 026001 (2010).
pubmed: 21406851
doi: 10.1088/0953-8984/23/2/026001
Campbell, I. A. Indirect exchange for rare earths in metals. J. Phys. F. Met. Phys. 2, L47 (1972).
doi: 10.1088/0305-4608/2/3/004
Céspedes-Berrocal, D. et al. Current-induced spin torques on single GdFeCo magnetic layers. Adv. Mater. 33, 2007047 (2021).
doi: 10.1002/adma.202007047
Rashba, E. I. Properties of semiconductors with an extremum loop. I. Cyclotron and combinational resonance in a magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the loop. Sov. Phys. Solid State 2, 1109 (1960).
Manchon, A. et al. Current-induced spin-orbit torques in ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic systems. Rev. Mod. Phys. 91, 035004 (2019).
doi: 10.1103/RevModPhys.91.035004
Fan, Y. et al. Magnetization switching through giant spin-orbit torque in a magnetically doped topological insulator heterostructure. Nat. Mater. 13, 699 (2014).
pubmed: 24776536
doi: 10.1038/nmat3973
Schulz, T. et al. Effective field analysis using the full angular spin orbit torque magnetometry dependence. Phys. Rev. B 95, 224409 (2017).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.95.224409
Manchon, A. & Zhang, S. Theory of nonequilibrium intrinsic spin torque in a single nanomagnet. Phys. Rev. B 78, 212405 (2008).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.78.212405
Amin, V. P., Li, J., Stiles, M. D. & Haney, P. M. Intrinsic spin currents in ferromagnets. Phys. Rev. B 99, 220405 (2019).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.99.220405
Amin, V. P., Haney, P. M. & Stiles, M. D. Interfacial spin–orbit torques. J. Appl. Phys. 128, 151101 (2020).
doi: 10.1063/5.0024019
Amin, V. P. & Stiles, M. D. Spin transport at interfaces with spin-orbit coupling: Phenomenology. Phys. Rev. B 94, 104420 (2016).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.94.104420
Zhang, R. Q. et al. Current-induced magnetization switching in a CoTb amorphous single layer. Phys. Rev. B 101, 214418 (2020).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.101.214418
Je, S. G. et al. Spin-orbit torque-induced switching in ferrimagnetic alloys: experiments and modeling. Appl. Phys. Lett. 112, 062401 (2018).
doi: 10.1063/1.5017738
Wang, H. et al. Spin-orbit-torque switching mediated by an antiferromagnetic insulator. Phys. Rev. Appl. 11, 044070 (2019).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.11.044070
Kim, S. et al. Magnetic droplet nucleation with a homochiral Néel domain wall. Phys. Rev. B 95, 220402 (2017).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.95.220402
Hals, K. M., Tserkovnyak, Y. & Brataas, A. Phenomenology of current-induced dynamics in antiferromagnets. Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 107206 (2011).
pubmed: 21469831
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.107206
Sánchez-Tejerina, L. et al. Dynamics of domain-wall motion driven by spin-orbit torque in antiferromagnets. Phys. Rev. B 101, 014433 (2020).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.101.014433
Martínez, E., Raposo, V. & Alejos, Ó. Current-driven domain wall dynamics in ferrimagnets: Micromagnetic approach and collective coordinate’s model. J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 491, 165545 (2019).
doi: 10.1016/j.jmmm.2019.165545
Sánchez-Tejerina, L. et al. Unified framework for micromagnetic modeling of ferro-, ferri-, and antiferromagnetic materials at mesoscopic scale: domain wall dynamics as a case study. IEEE Magn. Lett. 11, 1–5 (2020).
doi: 10.1109/LMAG.2020.3022602
Cutugno, F. et al. Micromagnetic understanding of switching and self-oscillations in ferrimagnetic materials. Appl. Phys. Lett. 118, 052403 (2021).
doi: 10.1063/5.0038635
Heide, M., Bihlmayer, G. & Blügel, S. Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction accounting for the orientation of magnetic domains in ultrathin films: Fe/W (110). Phys. Rev. B 78, 140403 (2008).
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.78.140403
Martinez, E., Emori, S. & Beach, G. S. Current-driven domain wall motion along high perpendicular anisotropy multilayers: the role of the Rashba field, the spin Hall effect, and the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction. Appl. Phys. Lett. 103, 072406 (2013).
doi: 10.1063/1.4818723
Tomasello, R. et al. Domain periodicity in an easy-plane antiferromagnet with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Phys. Rev. B 102, 224432 (2020).
Reza, A. K. & Roy, K. Fast switching in CoTb based ferrimagnetic tunnel junction. J. Appl. Phys. 126, 023901 (2019).
doi: 10.1063/1.5089756
Bai, X. J. et al. Influence of the thickness of the FeCoGd layer on the magnetoresistance in FeCoGd-based spin valves and magnetic tunnel junctions. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41, 215008 (2008).
doi: 10.1088/0022-3727/41/21/215008
Jeong, J. et al. Termination layer compensated tunneling magnetoresistance in ferrimagnetic Heusler compounds with high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Nat. Commun. 7, 1–8 (2016).
doi: 10.1038/ncomms10276