Nanoscale Vector Magnetic Sensing with Current‐Driven Stochastic Nanomagnet

• Published in: Advanced electronic materials Vol. 10; no. 4
• Main Authors: Zhang, Shuai, Li, Shihao, Guo, Zhe, Xu, Yan, Li, Ruofan, Chen, Zhenjiang, Song, Min, Yang, Xiaofei, Li, Liang, Zou, Xuecheng, You, Long
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley-VCH 01.04.2024
• Subjects: nanoscale vector magnetic sensors; probabilistic switching; spin‐orbit torques; stochastic nanomagnet
• ISSN: 2199-160X; 2199-160X
• DOI: 10.1002/aelm.202300753

Detection of vector magnetic fields at nanoscale dimensions is critical in applications ranging from basic material science and fundamental physics to information storage and medical diagnostics. So far, nanoscale vector magnetic field sensing is achieved solely by exploiting a single nitrogen‐vacancy (NV) center in a diamond, by evaluating the Zeeman splitting of NV spin qubits by using the technique of an optically‐detected magnetic resonance. This protocol requires a complex optical setup and expensive detection systems to detect the photoluminescence light, which may limit miniaturization and scalability. Here, a simple approach with all‐electric operation to sensing a vector magnetic field at 200 × 200 nm2 dimensions is experimentally demonstrated, by monitoring a stochastic nanomagnet's transition probability from a metastable state, excited by a driving current due to spin‐orbit torque, to a settled state. Nanoscale vector magnetic field sensing is critical in applications ranging from basic material science to medical diagnostics. Here, an all‐electric approach to sensing a vector magnetic field at nanoscale dimensions is proposed and experimentally demonstrated, by monitoring a probabilistic nanomagnet's transition probability from a metastable state, excited by a driving current due to spin‐orbit torque, to a settled state.