Switching of perpendicular magnetization by spin-orbit torques in the absence of external magnetic fields
Magnetization switching by current-induced spin-orbit torques is of great interest due to its potential applications in ultralow-power memory and logic devices. The switching of ferromagnets with perpendicular magnetization is of particular technological relevance. However, in such materials, the pr...
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Published in | Nature nanotechnology Vol. 9; no. 7; pp. 548 - 554 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
Nature Publishing Group
01.07.2014
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Magnetization switching by current-induced spin-orbit torques is of great interest due to its potential applications in ultralow-power memory and logic devices. The switching of ferromagnets with perpendicular magnetization is of particular technological relevance. However, in such materials, the presence of an in-plane external magnetic field is typically required to assist spin-orbit torque-driven switching and this is an obstacle for practical applications. Here, we report the switching of out-of-plane magnetized Ta/Co(20)Fe(60)B(20)/TaO(x) structures by spin-orbit torques driven by in-plane currents, without the need for any external magnetic fields. This is achieved by introducing a lateral structural asymmetry into our devices, which gives rise to a new field-like spin-orbit torque when in-plane current flows in these structures. The direction of the current-induced effective field corresponding to this field-like spin-orbit torque is out-of-plane, facilitating the switching of perpendicular magnets. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1748-3387 1748-3395 |
DOI: | 10.1038/nnano.2014.94 |