Electric field control on gated Pt/Co/SiO2 heterostructure with insulating polymer

Abstract

Due to its low-dissipative nature, electric field control on magnetic materials can greatly improve the energy efficiency of spintronic devices. Here, we demonstrate the use of a polymer, MaN2401 as an insulating layer for electric field control on a Hall cross structure comprising of a Pt/Co/SiO2 heterostructure. The results show that electric field control is able to tune the coercivity of the magnetic Hall crosses up to percentage changes of −47 and +68%, corresponding to a change in thickness of the Co layer by ~0.4 nm. This provides evidence that validates the mechanism of the magneto-ionic effect from the thickness of the magnetic material instead of detecting the oxidation state at the Co/oxide interface. Dynamic studies conducted on the coercivity of the Hall crosses indicate that a thinner insulating polymer layer produces a higher rate of change in the coercivity of the device. The results presented here offer a fast and repeatable method to observe and study electric field control, paving the way towards the realization of a low-power spintronic device on a flexible substrate.