Giant Spin-flop magnetoresistance in a collinear antiferromagnetic tunnel junction

Shijie Xu, Zhizhong Zhang, Farzad Mahfouzi, Yan Huang, Houyi Cheng, Bingqian Dai, Jinwoong Kim, Daoqian Zhu, Wenlong Cai, Kewen Shi, Zongxia Guo, Kaihua Cao, Bin Hong, Yongshan Liu, Jiakai Yang, Kun Zhang, Jiefeng Cao, Fangyuan Zhu, Lixuan Tai, Yamei Wang, Sylvain Eimer, Albert Fert, Kang L. Wang, Nicholas Kioussis (), Yue Zhang () and Weisheng Zhao ()
Additional contact information
Shijie Xu: Beihang University
Zhizhong Zhang: Beihang University
Farzad Mahfouzi: Northridge
Yan Huang: Beihang University
Houyi Cheng: Beihang University
Bingqian Dai: Los Angeles
Jinwoong Kim: Northridge
Daoqian Zhu: Beihang University
Wenlong Cai: Beihang University
Kewen Shi: Beihang University
Zongxia Guo: Beihang University
Kaihua Cao: Beihang University
Bin Hong: Beihang University
Yongshan Liu: Beihang University
Jiakai Yang: Beihang University
Kun Zhang: Beihang University
Jiefeng Cao: Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Fangyuan Zhu: Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lixuan Tai: Los Angeles
Yamei Wang: Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Sylvain Eimer: Beihang University
Albert Fert: Beihang University
Kang L. Wang: Los Angeles
Nicholas Kioussis: Northridge
Yue Zhang: Beihang University
Weisheng Zhao: Beihang University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Collinear antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials have the unique promise of no stray fields, displaying ultrafast dynamics, and being robust against perturbation fields which motivate the extensive research of antiferromagnetic spintronics. However, the detection of antiferromagnetic order poses formidable challenges. Here, we report the electrical detection of colinear antiferromagnetism in all-epitaxial RuO2/MgO/RuO2 tunnel junctions (TJ) using spin-flop tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR). We measured a TAMR ratio of around 60% at room temperature, which arises from the switching between the parallel and perpendicular configurations of the adjacent collinear AFM state. Furthermore, we carried out angular-dependent measurements using this antiferromagnetic tunnel junction (AFM-TJ) and showed that the magnitude of anisotropic longitudinal magnetoresistance in the AFM-TJ can be controlled by the direction of an external magnetic field. First principles electronic structure calculations corroborate that the collinear antiferromagnetic TJ may produce a substantially large TAMR ratio. The emergence of resonant interfacial states, combined with the tunneling transmission through the MgO barrier and the substantial spin-orbit coupling (SOC) strength of Ru, especially when augmented by oxygen doping, leads to the significant enhancement observed in the tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance (TAMR). Our work not only propels antiferromagnetic materials to the forefront of spintronic device innovation but also unveils a novel paradigm for electrically controlled antiferromagnetic spintronics, auguring transformative advancements in high-speed, low-energy information devices.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62695-w

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