Field-like Torque Research Articles

Origin of spin–orbit torque in single-layer CoFeB investigated via in-plane harmonic Hall measurements

The current-induced spin–orbit torque in single-layer ferromagnetic CoFeB thin films is quantitatively investigated by using in-plane harmonic Hall measurements. After the subtraction of thermal contributions such as the anomalous and ordinary Nernst effects, the obtained overall spin–orbit torque is successfully decomposed into damping-like (DL) and field-like (FL) terms. The DL and FL torques exhibit opposite trends of ferromagnetic layer thickness dependence before saturation, giving rise to distinctively different spin torque efficiencies: the DL torque efficiency shows a strong thickness dependence, while the FL torque efficiency is almost independent of the thickness. Such a result shows strong evidence that the DL torque originates from a spin-Hall-like charge-spin conversion in the ferromagnet, while the FL torque stems from interfacial effects such as the Rashba–Edelstein effect. With both DL and FL torques quantified in the single-layer CoFeB, our results exhibit an important step toward the understanding of nontrivial spin–orbit torques in single-layer ferromagnetic thin films.

Growth, strain, and spin-orbit torques in epitaxial Ni-Mn-Sb films sputtered on GaAs

We report current-induced spin torques in epitaxial NiMnSb films on a commercially available epiready GaAs substrate. The NiMnSb was grown by cosputtering from three targets using optimized parameters. The films were processed into microscale bars to perform current-induced spin-torque measurements. Magnetic dynamics were excited by microwave currents, and electric voltages along the bars were measured to analyze the symmetry of the current-induced torques. We found that the extracted symmetry of the spin torques matches those expected from spin-orbit interaction in a tetragonally distorted half-Heusler crystal. Both fieldlike and dampinglike torques are observed in all the samples characterized, and the efficiency of the current-induced torques is comparable to that of ferromagnetic metal/heavy-metal bilayers.

Tunable spin–orbit torque efficiency in in-plane and perpendicular magnetized [Pt/Co]n multilayer

Despite the great promise for very efficient and fast switching of magnetization in embedded memory and computing applications, the performance of spin–orbit torque (SOT) lags behind conventional technologies due to the low spin-Hall conductivity of the spin Hall materials. This work reports an advantageous spin Hall material, periodic [Pt/Co]n multilayer, which combines a low resistivity with a widely tunable spin Hall effect along with magnetization as evidenced with an in-plane CoFeB ferromagnetic detector. Three detection methods have been employed to illustrate the trends of magnetic orientation, interlayer exchange coupling, spin transport, and SOT efficiency as a function of Co thickness, which casts insight into the mechanisms of the SOTs in the [Pt/Co]n multilayer. With the varying Co thickness in the [Pt/Co]n multilayer, it is found that the damping-like torque efficiency is negative and the field-like torque efficiency is 8.2–31.5 times larger. The [Pt/Co]n multilayers have two spin reorientation transition states where the spin Hall angle θSH is maximized with a low resistivity of ∼ 40 μΩ cm, at tCo = 0.507 nm and 0.159 nm. We simulated the magnetization trajectories and time-domain responses of SOT switching with a current pulse and demonstrated a much faster switching in the spin reorientation transition states based on the coupled Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation.

Impact of the interplay of piezoelectric strain and current-induced heating on the field-like spin–orbit torque in perpendicularly magnetized Ta/Co20Fe60B20/Ta/MgO film

Spin–orbit torques (SOTs) are known to be the most efficient way to manipulate the magnetization direction by electrical currents. While, conventionally, one symmetry component of the SOTs, namely, the damping-like torque, was considered to play a primary role, recently, the significance of the other component, the field-like torque, has been revised, owing to the non-trivial dynamics it can induce in heavy metal/ferromagnet multilayers. In this work, we first discuss the unusual behavior of the field-like SOT in a Ta/CoFeB/Ta/MgO multilayer system with a reduced magnetic anisotropy and demonstrate an energy-efficient approach to manipulate the magnitude of the SOT effective fields. Finally, our results show a possibility to engineer the anisotropy of the field-like SOTs by piezoelectric strain, which can be potentially attractive for application in spintronics.

Spin-orbit torques originating from the bulk and interface in Pt-based structures

We investigated spin-orbit torques in prototypical Pt-based spintronic devices. We found that, in Pt/Ni and Pt/Fe bilayers, the damping-like torque efficiency depends on the thickness of the Pt layer. We also found that the damping-like torque efficiency is almost identical in the Pt/Ni and Pt/Fe bilayers despite the stronger spin memory loss at the Pt/Fe interface. These results suggest that although the dominant source of the damping-like torque is the bulk spin Hall effect in the Pt layer, a sizable damping-like torque is generated by the interface in the Pt/Fe bilayer due to the stronger interfacial spin-orbit coupling. In contrast to the damping-like torque, whose magnitude and sign are almost identical in the Pt/Ni and Pt/Fe bilayers, the field-like torque strongly depends on the choice of the ferromagnetic layer. The sign of the field-like torque originating from the bulk spin Hall effect in the Pt layer is opposite between the Pt/Ni and Pt/Fe bilayers, which can be attributed to the opposite sign of the imaginary part of the spin-mixing conductance. These results demonstrate that the spin-orbit torques are quite sensitive to the electronic structure of the FM layer.

Interface-induced field-like optical spin torque in a ferromagnet/heavy metal heterostructure

Abstract The manipulation of magnetization in a metallic ferromagnet by using optical helicity has been much attracted attention for future opto-spintronic devices. The optical helicity–induced torques on the magnetization, optical spin torque, have been observed in ferromagnetic thin films recently. However, the interfacial effect of the optical spin torque in ferromagnet/nonmagnetic heavy metal heterostructures have not been addressed so far, which are widely utilized to efficiently control magnetization via electrical means. Here, we studied optical spin torque vectors in the ferromagnet/nonmagnetic heavy metal heterostructures and observed that in-plane field-like optical spin torque was significantly increased with decreasing ferromagnetic layer thicknesses. The interfacial field-like optical spin torque was explained by the optical Rashba–Edelstein effect caused by the structural inversion symmetry breaking. This work will aid in the efficient optical manipulation of thin film nanomagnets using optical helicity.

Suppression of the field-like torque for efficient magnetization switching in a spin–orbit ferromagnet

Spin–orbit torque magnetization switching is an efficient method to control magnetization. In perpendicularly magnetized films, two types of spin–orbit torque are induced by driving a current: a damping-like torque and a field-like torque. The damping-like torque assists magnetization switching, but a large field-like torque pushes the magnetization towards the in-plane direction, resulting in a larger critical switching current density and making deterministic switching challenging. Control of the field-like torque strength is difficult because it is intrinsic to the material system used. Here, we show that the field-like term can be suppressed in a spin–orbit ferromagnetic single layer of (Ga,Mn)As by a current-induced Oersted field due to its non-uniform current distribution, making the damping-like torque term (the result of strong Dresselhaus spin–orbit coupling) dominant. The Oersted field can be controlled by the film thickness, resulting in an extremely low switching current density of 4.6 × 104 A cm–2. This strategy can thus provide an efficient approach to spin–orbit torque magnetization switching. A spin–orbit ferromagnetic single layer of (Ga,Mn)As can have a magnetization switching current density as low as 4.6 × 104 A cm−2 by suppressing the field-like torque via control of the current direction and film thickness.

Platinum composition dependence of spin-orbit torque in (Fe0.8Mn0.2)1−xPtx single-layer ferromagnet

We have investigated the effect of the Pt composition on the spin–orbit torque in a (Fe0.8Mn0.2)1−xPtx single-layer ferromagnet. We observed that while the field-like torque decreases and even reverses sign with increasing the Pt composition, the damping-like torque increases monotonically and reaches 0.99 Oe/(1010 A/m2) in a single-layer (Fe0.8Mn0.2)0.52Pt0.48 film. The results corroborate the anomalous Hall effect and surface spin rotation model presented previously, and the relative ratio between the damping-like and field-like torques can be qualitatively understood as the relative phase change in spin-conserving and spin-flip scattering.

Interfacial spin transmission and spin–orbit torques in as-grown and annealed W/Co2FeAl/MgO multilayers

The interfacial spin transmission and spin–orbit torques (SOTs) in as-grown and annealed W/Co2FeAl(CFA)/MgO multilayers are studied by the spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) technique. The effective spin-mixing conductance of 4.40×1014 Ω−1 m−2 and the interfacial spin transparency Tin of 0.47 are obtained for the as-grown samples, which are comparable to those of the widely employed W/CoFeB bilayer. The annealing influence on the W/CFA/MgO multilayer is subsequently studied. The damping-like torque efficiency (ξDL) and field-like torque efficiency (ξFL) are extracted for different annealing temperatures via modulation of damping measurements and the angular dependence of ST-FMR spectra. Importantly, the ξDL value is fairly large (0.3–0.5) and does not degrade even when the annealing temperature is increased up to 420 °C. Our results indicate that the studied W/CFA/MgO multilayers could be promising candidate materials for designing and developing SOT-driven spintronic devices.

Large interfacial spin-orbit torques in layered antiferromagnetic insulator NiPS3 /ferromagnet bilayers

Finding efficient ways of manipulating magnetic bits is one of the core goals in spintronic research. Electrically-generated spin-orbit torques (SOTs) are good candidates for this and the search for materials capable of generating highly-efficient SOTs has gained a lot of traction in the recent years. While antiferromagnet/ferromagnet bilayer structures have been employed extensively for passive applications, e.g. by using exchange bias fields, their active properties are not yet widely employed. Here we show the presence of large interfacial SOTs in bilayer of a ferromagnet and the two-dimensional layered antiferromagnetic insulator NiPS$_3$. We observe a large in-plane damping-like interfacial torque, showing a torque conductivity of $\sigma_\mathrm{DL} \approx 1 \times 10^{5} \mathrm{(\frac{\hbar}{2e}) /(\Omega m)}$ even at room temperature, comparable to the best devices reported in the literature for standard heavy-metal-based and topological insulators-based devices. Additionally, our devices also show an out-of-plane field-like torque arising from the NiPS$_3$/ferromagnet interface, further indicating the presence of an interfacial spin-orbit coupling in our structures. Temperature-dependent measurements reveal an increase of the SOTs with a decreasing temperature below the N\'eel temperature of NiPS$_3$ ($T_N \approx 170 \mathrm{K}$), pointing to a possible effect of the magnetic ordering on our measured SOTs. Our findings show the potential of antiferromagnetic insulators and two-dimensional materials for future spintronic applications.

Enhancement of spin-charge current interconversion by oxidation of rhenium

We have demonstrated enhancement of the spin-charge current interconversion by oxidation of rhenium (Re). Although amorphous rhenium oxide (ReOX) is electrically conductive, the spin–orbit torque efficiency measured by spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance is 0.074, and 37 times larger than the pure Re case whose amplitude is 0.002. Furthermore, we have also found that the values of the damping-like and field-like torque efficiencies are 0.030 and −0.052, respectively. These values are comparable with those for conventional spin–orbit materials such as Pt or Ta, suggesting that ReOX is a candidate material for spintronics devices. THz-time domain spectroscopy was performed to confirm the inverse spin-charge current conversion process in ReOX.

Strong Interfacial Exchange Field in a Heavy Metal/Ferromagnetic Insulator System Determined by Spin Hall Magnetoresistance.

Spin-dependent transport at heavy metal/magnetic insulator interfaces is at the origin of many phenomena at the forefront of spintronics research. A proper quantification of the different interfacial spin conductances is crucial for many applications. Here, we report the first measurement of the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) of Pt on a purely ferromagnetic insulator (EuS). We perform SMR measurements in a wide range of temperatures and fit the results by using a microscopic model. From this fitting procedure, we obtain the temperature dependence of the spin conductances (Gs, Gr, and Gi), disentangling the contribution of field-like torque (Gi), damping-like torque (Gr), and spin-flip scattering (Gs). An interfacial exchange field of the order of 1 meV acting upon the conduction electrons of Pt can be estimated from Gi, which is at least three times larger than Gr below the Curie temperature. Our work provides an easy method to quantify this interfacial spin-splitting field, which plays a key role in emerging fields such as superconducting spintronics and caloritronics as well as topological quantum computation.

Electrical control of antiferromagnets for the next generation of computing technology

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.

Control of Spin-Orbit Torques by Interface Engineering in Topological Insulator Heterostructures.

(Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 topological insulators (TIs) are gathering increasing attention owing to their large charge-to-spin conversion efficiency and the ensuing spin-orbit torques (SOTs) that can be used to manipulate the magnetization of a ferromagnet (FM). The origin of the torques, however, remains elusive, while the implications of hybridized states and the strong material intermixing at the TI/FM interface are essentially unexplored. By combining interface chemical analysis and spin-transfer ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) measurements, we demonstrate that intermixing plays a critical role in the generation of SOTs. By inserting a suitable normal metal spacer, material intermixing is reduced and the TI properties at the interface are largely improved, resulting in strong variations in the nature of the SOTs. A dramatic enhancement of a field-like torque, opposing and surpassing the Oersted-field torque, is observed, which can be attributed to the non-equilibrium spin density in Rashba-split surface bands and to the suppression of spin memory loss. These phenomena can play a relevant role at other interfaces, such as those comprising transition metal dichalcogenides.

Influence of Field-Like Torque in Synchronization of Spin Torque Oscillators

The magnetization dynamics of two parallelly coupled spin torque oscillators, destabilization of steady states and removal of multistability, are investigated by taking into account the influence of field-like torque. It is shown that the existence of such torque can cancel the effect of damping and can, therefore, cause the oscillators to exhibit synchronized oscillations in response to direct current. Further, our results show that the presence of field-like torque enhances the power and Q-factor of the synchronized oscillations. The validity of the above results is confirmed by numerical and analytical studies based on the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert-Slonczewski equation.

Impact of the crystal orientation on spin-orbit torques in Fe/Pd bilayers

Spin-orbit torques in ferromagnetic/non-magnetic heterostructures offer more energy-efficient means to realize spin-logic devices; however, their strengths are determined by the heterostructure interface. This work examines the impact of crystal orientation on the spin-orbit torque efficiency in different Fe/Pd bilayer systems. Results from spin torque ferromagnetic resonance measurements evidence that the damping-like torque efficiency is higher in epitaxial than in polycrystalline bilayer structures while the field-like torque is negligible in all bilayer structures. The strength of the damping-like torque decreases with deterioration of the bilayer epitaxial quality. The present finding provides fresh insight for the enhancement of spin-orbit torques in magnetic heterostructures.

Study of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, spin–orbit torque, and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction in the heavy metal/CoFeB bilayers with Ir22Mn78 insertion

The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), current-induced spin–orbit torques (SOTs), and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) in the as-grown W or Ta/Ir22Mn78(IrMn)/CoFeB/MgO stacks with varying IrMn layer thicknesses were investigated. The in-plane magnetized W/CoFeB/MgO sample becomes perpendicularly magnetized after inserting the IrMn layer without the requirement of the annealing process. The effective magnetization fields 4πMeff show a nonmonotonic dependence on the IrMn layer thickness, which reaches the maximum in magnitude at a thickness of tIrMn = 0.75 nm. The SOT effective fields corresponding to damping-like and field-like torques decrease with the insertion layer thickness. Moreover, the variation of the IrMn layer thickness leads to the change of the DMI in magnitude and sign change from positive (favoring right-handed chirality) to negative (favoring left-handed chirality). The realization of changing the PMA, SOTs, and DMI by inserting the IrMn layer provides more flexibility in the design of spintronic devices.

Algebraic decay of the nonadiabaticity arising through chiral spin transfer torque in magnetic domain walls with Rashba spin-orbit interaction

Spin transfer torque in a two-dimensional electron gas system without space inversion symmetry was theoretically investigated by solving the Pauli-Schr\"odinger equation for the itinerant electrons inside magnetic domain walls. Due to the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling induced by the broken inversion symmetry, the spin transfer torque is chiral and the nonadiabaticity, which is defined to measure the relative importance of the nonadiabatic fieldlike torque to the adiabatic dampinglike torque, exhibits an inverse power-law decay as the domain wall width is increased. This algebraic decay is much slower than the exponential decay observed for systems without the Rashba spin-orbit coupling, and may find applications in innovative design of spintronic devices utilising magnetic topological textures such as magnetic domain walls and skyrmions.

Semirealistic tight-binding model for spin-orbit torques

We compute the spin-orbit torque in a transition metal heterostructure using Slater-Koster parameterization in the two-center tight-binding approximation and accounting for d-orbitals only. In this method, the spin-orbit coupling is modeled within Russel-Saunders scheme, which enables us to treat interfacial and bulk spin-orbit transport on equal footing. The two components of the spin-orbit torque, dissipative (damping-like) and reactive (field-like), are computed within Kubo linear response theory. By systematically studying their thickness and angular dependence, we were able to accurately characterize these components beyond the traditional "inverse spin galvanic" and "spin Hall" effects. Whereas the conventional field-like torque is purely interfacial, we unambiguously demonstrate that the conventional the damping-like torque possesses both an interfacial and a bulk contribution. In addition, both field-like and damping-like torques display substantial angular dependence with strikingly different thickness behavior. While the planar contribution of the field-like torque decreases smoothly with the nonmagnetic metal thickness, the planar contribution of the damping-like torque increases dramatically with the nonmagnetic metal thickness. Finally, we investigate the self-torque exerted on the ferromagnet when the spin-orbit coupling of the nonmagnetic metal is turned off. Our results suggest that the spin accumulation that builds up inside the ferromagnet can be large enough to induce magnetic excitations.

Disentanglement of Spin-Orbit Torques in Pt / Co Bilayers with the Presence of Spin Hall Effect and Rashba-Edelstein Effect

We demonstrate a quantitative disentanglement of current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) in $\mathrm{Pt}$/$\mathrm{Co}$ bilayers, where both the spin Hall effect (SHE) and the Rashba-Edelstein effect (REE) are present. The SOTs originating from the SHE in bulk $\mathrm{Pt}$ and from the REE at substrate (sub.)/$\mathrm{Pt}$ and $\mathrm{Pt}$/$\mathrm{Co}$ interfaces are successfully disentangled and quantified utilizing harmonic Hall measurements, by taking advantage of different characteristic lengths between the two effects during spin-current transport. The fieldlike (FL) torque in our samples originates from the REE, while both SHE and REE contribute to the dampinglike (DL) torque. The experimentally extracted transport characteristic lengths in bulk $\mathrm{Pt}$ (an effective spin-diffusion length) are 1.8--3.0 nm, while those at $\mathrm{Pt}$ interfaces (an effective REE thickness) are 0.2--0.6 nm. The extracted REE-induced FL torque (and DL torque) efficiencies at sub./$\mathrm{Pt}$ and $\mathrm{Pt}$/$\mathrm{Co}$ interfaces are of the same order of magnitude, but of opposite signs, which is consistent with the REE scenario. The origin of the observed temperature-dependent SOT sign reversal is clarified with our disentanglement analysis, demonstrating the significant role of the REE at both sub./$\mathrm{Pt}$ and $\mathrm{Pt}$/$\mathrm{Co}$ interfaces, in contributing to the overall SOTs, as the thickness of the heavy-metal layer is thinner than its spin-diffusion length or comparable to a REE thickness.