Spin Transfer Research Articles

Impact of orbital hybridization on spin-polarized electronic transport through Ni-MAPbI3 interfaces

The solution-processed methylammonium lead tri-iodine (MAPbI3), with long spin lifetimes and large spin diffusion lengths, has merit for developing stable perovskite spin valves (PeSV) with low saturation fields. By far, it remains challenging to avoid ill-defined ferromagnet-MAPbI3 interfaces during device fabrications using solution methods and to quantify the hybridized interfacial electronic and magnetic structures. Herein, an annealing-free method was developed for the fabrication of MAPbI3 based PeSV. In comparison to a thermally annealed device, an improved room temperature magnetoresistance (MR) was achieved. We found remarkable interfacial contributions to anisotropic magnetoresistance and MR. The first-principles calculation was further adopted to quantify the interfacial spin and orbital moments. Our results suggest that the orbital hybridization and the spin transfer are remarkable for the formation of the spin-dependent interfacial density of states. It consequently affects magnetic switching behaviors. This study holds an exceptionally important role for a deep understanding of the spin-polarized electronic transport through the Ni-MAPbI3 hybridized interface.

Complementary Polarizer SOT-MRAM for Low-Power and Robust On-Chip Memory Applications

Complementary polarized spin-transfer torque magnetic random-access memory (CPSTT-MRAM) has been proposed to address the sensing reliability issues caused by the single-ended sensing of STT-MRAM. However, it results in a three-fold increase in the free layer (FL) area compared to STT-MRAM, leading to a higher write current. Moreover, the read and write current paths in this memory are the same, thus preventing the optimization of each operation. To address these, in this study, we proposed a complementary polarized spin-orbit torque MRAM (CPSOT-MRAM), which tackles these issues through the SOT mechanism. This CPSOT-MRAM retains the advantages of CPSTT-MRAM while significantly alleviating the high write current requirement issue. Furthermore, the separation of the read and write current paths enables the optimization of each operation. Compared to CPSTT-MRAM, the proposed CPSOT-MRAM achieves a 4.0× and 2.8× improvement in write and read power, respectively, and a 20% reduction in layout area.

Effects of spin torque within ferromagnetic infinite medium: The short-wave approximation and Painlevé analysis

In this paper, we investigate the effects of spin-transfer torques within the ferromagnetic infinite medium through the short-wave approximation method. As a result, we have derived the new (1+1) dimensional nonlinear evolution system, which describes the propagation of electromagnetic short waves within the ferromagnet in the presence of electric current density. Using the Painlevé analysis and Hirota’s bilinearization, we unearth the integrability properties of this new evolution system. In the wake of such an analysis, the typical class of excitations and its physical implications are presented. We remark that the current density acts on magnetization like an effective magnetic damping, which is important for the stabilization of magnetic information storage and data process elements.

Manipulation of Magnonic Activity by Electric Currents in Ferromagnetic Nanocylinders

Electric currents passing through ferromagnets can impact the magnetization dynamics via the so-called spin-transfer torque (STT) effect. In this paper, we present a theoretical study on the current influence on magnonic activity, a recently reported spin wave (SW) chiral effect in ferromagnetic nanotubes. By micromagnetic simulations, we show that an electric current can cause a significant change in the rotatory power of the SW modes propagating in a longitudinally magnetized nanotube. This result is well explained by using the Fresnel model in optics assuming a SW circular birefringence. An analytical method is developed to solve the first-order mode, yielding perfect agreements with the numerical results. Our results provide a new approach to manipulate the SW propagating properties in ferromagnetic nanocylinders.

High-efficient separation of photoinduced charge carriers in CoFe2O4-ZnO magnetic heterostructures mediated by oxygen vacancies

In this work, magnetic heterostructures were obtained by the in-situ growth of various ZnO amounts on the preformed CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. The X-ray diffraction characterization shows the presence of both ZnO and CoFe2O4 crystalline phases, and the crystallite size is about 13–14 nm for both components. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed a CoFe2O4 inversion degree of 0.7. The composite samples demonstrated an extended absorption edge into the visible range. The sample’s magnetic properties were investigated by vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) and correlated with Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) results. The magnetic behavior was attributed to the combination of CoFe2O4 and ferromagnetic ZnO. The emergence of a ferromagnetic phase within ZnO was elucidated to originate from charge/spin transfer of spin-up polarized states from the CoFe2O4 Fermi level into empty oxygen vacancies of ZnO. High efficiency in Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under visible light was observed in the prepared composite materials, particularly with an optimal CoFe2O4-ZnO ratio of 1:5, achieving an 81 % degradation rate within 6 h. The proposed photodegradation mechanism, based on various spectroscopic and magnetic investigations, highlights the role of spin transfer and oxygen vacancies in facilitating reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation for pollutant degradation.

Analysis of spin current in ferromagnetic graphene junctions

Magnetization transport in a ferromagnetic/normal/ferromagnetic graphene junction has been investigated. Inspired by a seminal paper [Phys. Rev. B 66, 014,407, 2002], the longitudinal and transverse components of spin current i.e. components parallel and perpendicular to the magnetization direction in the ferromagnetic layer have been studied. It has been shown that only when the reflected and transmitted waves from the interface between two normal/ferromagnetic layers have the same angle as that of the incident wave, there will be no torque associated with the transport of longitudinal spin current. In general, for an arbitrary direction of magnetization, all spin current components are coexisted and therefore the parallel and the perpendicular components of spin transfer torque are existed. Therefore it is not possible to draw a general conclusion that the torque associated with the transport of longitudinal spin current is always zero.

Improvement in CPP-GMR read head sensor performance using [001]-oriented polycrystalline half-metallic Heusler alloy Co2FeGa0.5Ge0.5 and CoFe bilayer electrode

ABSTRACT A current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistive (CPP-GMR) device with a half-metallic electrode is one of the most promising candidates of next-generation read head for hard disk drive. In this study, we fabricate [001]-oriented polycrystalline CPP-GMR devices with the normal ferromagnet (NFM) CoFe/half-metallic ferromagnet (HMFM) Co2FeGa0.5Ge0.5 (CFGG) bilayer electrodes to enhance the magnetoresistance (MR) ratio by large interfacial spin-dependent scattering at the NFM/HMFM interface. The CoFe/CFGG bilayer electrode provides the additional large interfacial spin-dependent scattering and achieves high MR ratio of 22.7% with the CoFe(4.5 nm)/CFGG(2.5 nm) bilayer electrodes, which is almost three(two) times larger than the MR ratio with the single CoFe(CFGG) (7 nm) electrodes. The bias voltage dependent study revealed an additional advantage of increasing the output voltage |ΔV| by using the CoFe/CFGG bilayer due to the improvement of the endurance against spin-transfer torque under high bias current. A maximum output voltage Δ V max of 6.5 mV was obtained with the CoFe(5.5 nm)/CFGG(1.5 nm) electrodes, which is the highest ever reported in the CPP-GMR devices with a uniform metallic spacer including high-quality epitaxial devices.

Current-driven dynamics of antiferromagnetic skyrmions: from skyrmion Hall effects to hybrid inter-skyrmion scattering

Antiferromagnetic (AFM) skyrmions have emerged as a highly promising avenue in the realm of spintronics, particularly for the development of advanced racetrack memory devices. A distinguishing feature of AFM skyrmions is the cancellation of their net topological charge, leading to an anticipated absence of the skyrmion Hall effect (SkHE). Here, we unveil that the latter is finite under the influence of spin-transfer torque, depending on the direction of the injected current impinging on intrinsic AFM skyrmions emerging in Cr/Pd/Fe trilayer on Ir(111) surface. Hinging on first principles combined with atomistic spin dynamics simulations, we identify the origin of the SkHE, which is due to the ellipticity of the skyrmions, and we uncover that FM skyrmions in the underlying Fe layer act as effective traps for AFM skyrmions, confining them and affecting their velocity. These findings hold significant promise for spintronic applications, the design of multi-purpose skyrmion tracks while advancing our understanding of AFM–FM skyrmion interactions and hybrid soliton dynamics in heterostructures.

Divergent Interaction of (Iso)nitriles with a Linear Iron(I) Silylamide─A Combined Structural, Spectroscopic, and Computational Study.

Nitriles and isonitriles are important σ-donor ligands in coordination chemistry. Isonitriles also function in low-valent complexes as π-acceptor ligands similar to CO. Herein we present the unusual behavior of the highly reducing, high-spin iron(I) complex [Fe(hmds)2]- toward these compound classes. Rare examples of side-on coordination of nitriles to the metal center are observed. Insights gained by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy as well as DFT and CASSCF calculations give an interplay between the resonance structures of not only an iron(I) π-complex and an iron(III) metallacycle but also point to the importance of an iron(II) nitrile radical anion. For an aromatic isonitrile end-on coordination is observed, which is best described as an iron(I) complex with only minor unpaired spin transfer onto the isonitrile. For aliphatic isonitriles, the selective R-CN bond cleavage occurs and yields stoichiometric mixtures of alkyl iron(II) and cyanido iron(II) complexes. Attempts to isolate presumed (iso)nitrile radical anions void of 3d-metal coordination give for the reaction of an aromatic isonitrile with KC8 facile reductive coupling to the corresponding diamido acetylene.

Skyrmion-mediated nonvolatile ternary memory

Multistate memory systems have the ability to store and process more data in the same physical space as binary memory systems, making them a potential alternative to existing binary memory systems. In the past, it has been demonstrated that voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) based writing is highly energy-efficient compared to other writing methods used in non-volatile nano-magnetic binary memory systems. In this study, we introduce a new, VCMA-based and skyrmion-mediated non-volatile ternary memory system using a perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction (p-MTJ) in the presence of room temperature thermal perturbation. We have also shown that ternary states {− 1, 0, + 1} can be implemented with three magnetoresistance values obtained from a p-MTJ corresponding to ferromagnetic up, down, and skyrmion state, with 99% switching probability in the presence of room temperature thermal noise in an energy-efficient way, requiring ~ 2 fJ energy on an average for each switching operation. Additionally, we show that our proposed ternary memory demonstrates an improvement in area and energy by at least 2X and ~ 104X respectively, compared to state-of-the-art spin-transfer torque (STT)-based non-volatile magnetic multistate memories. Furthermore, these three states can be potentially utilized for energy-efficient, high-density in-memory quantized deep neural network implementation.

Charge and Spin Transfer Dynamics in a Weakly Coupled Porphyrin Dimer.

The dynamics of electron and spin transfer in the radical cation and photogenerated triplet states of a tetramethylbiphenyl-linked zinc-porphyrin dimer were investigated, so as to test the relevant parameters for the design of a single-molecule spin valve and the creation of a novel platform for the photogeneration of high-multiplicity spin states. We used a combination of multiple techniques, including variable-temperature continuous wave EPR, pulsed proton electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR), transient EPR, and optical spectroscopy. The conclusions are further supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and comparison to reference compounds. The low-temperature cw-EPR and room-temperature near-IR spectra of the dimer monocation demonstrate that the radical cation is spatially localized on one side of the dimer at any point in time, not coherently delocalized over both porphyrin units. The EPR spectra at 298 K reveal rapid hopping of the radical spin density between both sites of the dimer via reversible intramolecular electron transfer. The hyperfine interactions are modulated by electron transfer and can be quantified using ENDOR spectroscopy. This allowed simulation of the variable-temperature cw-EPR spectra with a two-site exchange model and provided information on the temperature-dependence of the electron transfer rate. The electron transfer rates range from about 10.0 MHz at 200 K to about 53.9 MHz at 298 K. The activation enthalpies Δ‡H of the electron transfer were determined as Δ‡H = 9.55 kJ mol-1 and Δ‡H = 5.67 kJ mol-1 in a 1:1:1 solvent mixture of CD2Cl2/toluene-d8/THF-d8 and in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, respectively, consistent with a Robin-Day class II mixed valence compound. These results indicate that the interporphyrin electronic coupling in a tetramethylbiphenyl-linked porphyrin dimer is suitable for the backbone of a single-molecule spin valve. Investigation of the spin density distribution of the photogenerated triplet state of the Zn-porphyrin dimer reveals localization of the triplet spin density on a nanosecond time scale on one-half of the dimer at 20 K in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and at 250 K in a polyvinylcarbazole film. This establishes the porphyrin dimer as a molecular platform for the formation of a localized, photogenerated triplet state on one porphyrin unit that is coupled to a second redox-active, ground-state porphyrin unit, which can be explored for the formation of high-multiplicity spin states.

Unipolar spin diodes and unipolar spin switches by Spin-Transfer torque in doped graphether

Spin switches are a fundamental component in the majority of spintronic devices, and have found extensive application in data storage, logical data manipulation, and signal processing. An essential aspect of constructing a spin switch is determining a stable two-dimensional material, which is easy to control and produce. Theoretical studies have shown that graphether is particularly promising due to its exceptionally high melting point and outstanding air stability. The band structure can be modified by doping, making it an important material for spin switch applications. In this paper, we have calculated the electromagnetic properties of doped graphether by first principles. Then we select a modified graphether with P-type and N-type doping configurations to construct magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ). The results show that the MTJ exhibits perfect highly efficient spin switch as a result of spin reversal induced by spin-transfer torque (STT). In addition, our designed MTJ shows a remarkable rectification effect and spin filtering effect (SFE). According to our calculations, the modified graphether materials also show promise as two-dimensional spintronics materials.

Ultrafast spin transfer and its impact on the electronic structure.

Optically induced intersite spin transfer (OISTR) promises manipulation of spin systems within the ultimate time limit of laser excitation. Following its prediction, signatures of ultrafast spin transfer between oppositely aligned spin sublattices have been observed in magnetic alloys and multilayers. However, it is known neither from theory nor from experiment whether the band structure immediately follows the ultrafast change in spin polarization or whether the exchange split bands remain rigid. We show that ultrafast spin transfer occurs even in ferromagnetic gadolinium metal. Charge transfer between localized surface and extended valence-band states leads to a decrease of the surface spin polarization. This synchronously alters the exchange splitting of the bulk valence bands during laser excitation. Moreover, the onset of demagnetization can be tuned by over 200 fs by changing the temperature-dependent spin mixing. Our results show a promising route to ultrafast control of the magnetization, widening the impact and applicability of OISTR.

Decoupling the influences of chiral damping and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in chiral magnetic domain walls

We revisit the nature and impact of both the chiral damping (CD) and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in uniaxial chiral ferromagnetic nanowires with broken inversion symmetry. We propose that CD, akin to its chiral energy counterpart (DMI), can be described in terms of the Lifshitz invariants permissible by the underlying symmetry of the system. This representation offers a clearer foundation for integrating CD into the dynamics of various chiral magnetic textures. We theoretically investigate the current-induced motion of chiral domain walls (DWs), driven by both spin-transfer torque and the spin Hall effect in the presence of CD. We demonstrate that it is possible to unambiguously separate the influence of CD from that of DMI by analyzing the current-induced dynamics. In particular, below the Walker breakdown (WB), the DMI does not affect the DW velocity, whereas increases in the strength of CD result in a decrease in the DW velocity. Moreover, for the spin-orbit torque driven motion, while the DMI enhances both the WB current density and the maximum attainable velocity below the WB, the CD only enhances the WB without affecting the maximum attainable velocity below the WB. Our findings open up intriguing opportunities for exploitation in exotic magnetic textures. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Voltage-insensitive stochastic magnetic tunnel junctions with double free layers

Stochastic magnetic tunnel junction (s-MTJ) is a promising component of probabilistic bit (p-bit), which plays a pivotal role in probabilistic computers. For a standard cell structure of the p-bit, s-MTJ is desired to be insensitive to voltage across the junction over several hundred millivolts. In conventional s-MTJs with a reference layer having a fixed magnetization direction, however, the stochastic output significantly varies with the voltage due to spin-transfer torque (STT) acting on the stochastic free layer. In this work, we study a s-MTJ with a “double-free-layer” design theoretically proposed earlier, in which the fixed reference layer of the conventional structure is replaced by another stochastic free layer, effectively mitigating the influence of STT on the stochastic output. We show that the key device property characterized by the ratio of relaxation times between the high- and low-resistance states is one to two orders of magnitude less sensitive to bias voltage variations compared to conventional s-MTJs when the top and bottom free layers are designed to possess the same effective thickness. This work opens a pathway for reliable, nanosecond-operation, high-output, and scalable spintronics-based p-bits.

Internal structure dependent creep motion of domain walls driven by spin-transfer torques

Internal structure dependent creep motion of domain walls driven by spin-transfer torques

Chirality-Induced Memristor of Chiral Nanostructured Half-Metallic Fe3O4 Films.

Spintronic memristors, which combine the nonvolatile characteristics of memristors with the scalability of a spin-transfer torque device, are expected to play a crucial role in advancing quantitative information processing. This field commonly relies on magnetic tunnel junctions, domain wall motion, and spin waves. Here, the discovery of chirality-induced memristor behavior in chiral nanostructured Fe3O4 films (CNFFs) is reported. These CNFFs are grown on fluorine tin oxide (FTO) substrates using enantiomeric glutamic acid (Glu) as symmetry-breaking agents and consist of arrays of oriented twisted nanofibers. At 100 K, the L-CNFF exhibits memristor behavior as a pinched hysteresis loop in the I-V curve, while the D-CNFF exhibits semiconductor behavior with constant electrical resistance. The intrinsic spin polarization of half-metallic Fe3O4 and the chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) are speculated to contribute to the memristor in one handedness of the chiral structure. These findings present a novel spinristor that combines the functions of a memristor and a spin-filter based on chiral structures, which may promote the development of spintronic devices.

Mixed etching-oxidation process to enhance the performance of spin-transfer torque MRAM for high-performance computing

Spin-transfer torque magnetic random access memory (MRAM) devices have considerable potential for high-performance computing applications; however, progress in this field has been hindered by difficulties in etching the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). One notable issue is electrical shorting caused by the accumulation of etching by-products on MTJ surfaces. Attempts to resolve these issues led to the development of step-MTJs, in which etching does not proceed beyond the MgO barrier; however, the resulting devices suffer from poor scalability and unpredictable shunting paths due to asymmetric electrode structures. This paper outlines the fabrication of pillar-shaped MTJs via a four-step etching process involving reactive-ion etching, ion-beam etching, oxygen exposure, and ion-trimming. The respective steps can be cross-tuned to optimize the shape of the pillars, prevent sidewall redeposition, and remove undesired shunting paths in order to enhance MTJ performance. In experiments, the proposed pillar-MTJs outperformed step-MTJs in key metrics, including tunneling magnetoresistance, coercivity, and switching efficiency. The proposed pillar-MTJs also enable the fabrication of MRAM cells with smaller cell sizes than spin–orbit torque devices and require no external field differing from voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy devices.

Thermal optimization of two-terminal SOT-MRAM

While magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) stands out as a leading candidate for embedded nonvolatile memory and last-level cache applications, its endurance is compromised by substantial self-heating due to the high programming current density. The effect of self-heating on the endurance of the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) has primarily been studied in spin-transfer torque (STT)-MRAM. Here, we analyze the transient temperature response of two-terminal spin–orbit torque (SOT)-MRAM with a 1 ns switching current pulse using electro-thermal simulations. We estimate a peak temperature range of 350–450 °C in 40 nm diameter MTJs, underscoring the critical need for thermal management to improve endurance. We suggest several thermal engineering strategies to reduce the peak temperature by up to 120 °C in such devices, which could improve their endurance by at least a factor of 1000× at 0.75 V operating voltage. These results suggest that two-terminal SOT-MRAM could significantly outperform conventional STT-MRAM in terms of endurance, substantially benefiting from thermal engineering. These insights are pivotal for thermal optimization strategies in the development of MRAM technologies.

Prediction of the pKa's of Hydrated Metal Carbonates and Bicarbonates for Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn Dications.

The gas- and aqueous-phase acidities of hydrated metal dication carbonates, bicarbonates, and hydroxide complexes M(CO3)(H2O)n for n = 1 to 3, M(HCO3)2, M(HCO3)2(H2O)2, M(HCO3)(OH), and M(HCO3)(H2O)2(OH) for M = Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn were calculated at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pwCVDZ/cc-pwCVDZ level in the gas phase and at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ/cc-pVTZ(-PP) level with the COSMO self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) method in the aqueous phase. The composite correlated molecular orbital theory G3(MP2) and G3(MP2)B3 methods were used to predict the pKa's of the Mg structures and cis-cis carbonic acid to provide additional benchmarks. Using values scaled to experiment for H2CO3, the pKa's of bicarbonate ligands in group 2 and transition-metal complexes were compared to carbonic acid to gauge the effect of the metal complex on the bicarbonate. The group 2 metal complexes M(HCO3)2 and M(HCO3)(OH) decreased the acidity of the bicarbonate ligands, whereas their dihydrates were even less acidic. The transition-metal di-bicarbonate and bicarbonate hydroxide complexes generally made the bicarbonate more acidic especially when reduction of the metal occurs consistent with electron donation from the ligands; this is accompanied by spin transfer which typically increases in the order Mn < Fe < Co < Ni < Cu. The transition-metal dihydrates were less acidic than carbonic acid. Using values scaled to experiment for hydrated metal dications, the pKa's of water coordinated to group 2 and transition-metal complexes were generally more acidic than the hydrated metal dications, with the exception of Ca bicarbonate dihydrate, Co carbonate, Ni di-bicarbonate dihydrate, and Cu bicarbonate hydroxide di-bicarbonate.