Field-free magnetization reversal by spin-Hall effect and exchange bias

A. van den Brink (), G. Vermijs, A. Solignac, J. Koo, J. T. Kohlhepp, H. J. M. Swagten and B. Koopmans
Additional contact information
A. van den Brink: Eindhoven University of Technology
G. Vermijs: Eindhoven University of Technology
A. Solignac: Eindhoven University of Technology
J. Koo: Eindhoven University of Technology
J. T. Kohlhepp: Eindhoven University of Technology
H. J. M. Swagten: Eindhoven University of Technology
B. Koopmans: Eindhoven University of Technology

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract As the first magnetic random access memories are finding their way onto the market, an important issue remains to be solved: the current density required to write magnetic bits becomes prohibitively high as bit dimensions are reduced. Recently, spin–orbit torques and the spin-Hall effect in particular have attracted significant interest, as they enable magnetization reversal without high current densities running through the tunnel barrier. For perpendicularly magnetized layers, however, the technological implementation of the spin-Hall effect is hampered by the necessity of an in-plane magnetic field for deterministic switching. Here we interface a thin ferromagnetic layer with an anti-ferromagnetic material. An in-plane exchange bias is created and shown to enable field-free S HE-driven magnetization reversal of a perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/IrMn structure. Aside from the potential technological implications, our experiment provides additional insight into the local spin structure at the ferromagnetic/anti-ferromagnetic interface.

Date: 2016
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms10854 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:7:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms10854

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10854

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().