Robust spin-orbit torque and spin-galvanic effect at the Fe/GaAs (001) interface at room temperature

L. Chen, M. Decker, M. Kronseder, R. Islinger, M. Gmitra, D. Schuh, D. Bougeard, J. Fabian, D. Weiss and C. H. Back ()
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L. Chen: Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg
M. Decker: Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg
M. Kronseder: Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg
R. Islinger: Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg
M. Gmitra: Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg
D. Schuh: Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg
D. Bougeard: Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg
J. Fabian: Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg
D. Weiss: Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg
C. H. Back: Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg

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

Abstract: Abstract Interfacial spin-orbit torques (SOTs) enable the manipulation of the magnetization through in-plane charge currents, which has drawn increasing attention for spintronic applications. The search for material systems providing efficient SOTs, has been focused on polycrystalline ferromagnetic metal/non-magnetic metal bilayers. In these systems, currents flowing in the non-magnetic layer generate—due to strong spin–orbit interaction—spin currents via the spin Hall effect and induce a torque at the interface to the ferromagnet. Here we report the observation of robust SOT occuring at a single crystalline Fe/GaAs (001) interface at room temperature. We find that the magnitude of the interfacial SOT, caused by the reduced symmetry at the interface, is comparably strong as in ferromagnetic metal/non-magnetic metal systems. The large spin-orbit fields at the interface also enable spin-to-charge current conversion at the interface, known as spin-galvanic effect. The results suggest that single crystalline Fe/GaAs interfaces may enable efficient electrical magnetization manipulation.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13802

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