| Title |
Field-free spin-orbit torque switching assisted by in-plane unconventional spin torque in ultrathin [Pt/Co]N / |
| Authors |
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 |
| DOI |
10.1038/s41467-023-39649-1 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
Nature communications.. Berlin : Nature. 2023, vol. 14, iss. 1, art. no. 3932, p. 1-9.. ISSN 2041-1723 |
| Abstract [eng] |
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. |
| Published |
Berlin : Nature |
| Type |
Journal article |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2023 |
| CC license |
|
