Electrical control of antiferromagnets for the next generation of computing technology

Abstract

Antiferromagnets are a class of magnetically ordered material with zero net magnetization. A swathe of recent experimental studies have shown that electrical control of antiferromagnetic order is possible by two distinct mechanisms: field-like and damping-like torques. This could be revolutionary for the next generation of computing technologies, as the properties of antiferromagnets are advantageous for high speed, high density memory applications. Here, we review the electrical control of antiferromagnets via field-like and damping-like torques as well as distinguishing from pervasive non-magnetic effects that have raised questions about the origins of electrically measured switching signals.