1. Field-free spin-orbit torque-induced switching of perpendicular magnetization in a ferrimagnetic layer with vertical composition gradient
- Author
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Zheng, Zhenyi, Zhang, Yue, Lopez-Dominguez, Victor, Sánchez-Tejerina, Luis, Shi, Jiacheng, Feng, Xueqiang, Chen, Lei, Wang, Zilu, Zhang, Zhizhong, Zhang, Kun, Hong, Bin, Xu, Yong, Zhang, Youguang, Carpentieri, Mario, Fert, Albert, Finocchio, Giovanni, Zhao, Weisheng, and Amiri, Pedram Khalili
- Subjects
Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics - Abstract
Current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) are of interest for fast and energy-efficient manipulation of magnetic order in spintronic devices. To be deterministic, however, switching of perpendicularly magnetized materials by SOT requires a mechanism for in-plane symmetry breaking. Existing methods to do so involve the application of an in-plane bias magnetic field, or incorporation of in-plane structural asymmetry in the device, both of which can be difficult to implement in practical applications. Here, we reported bias-field-free SOT switching in a single perpendicular CoTb layer with an engineered vertical composition gradient. The vertical structural inversion asymmetry induces strong intrinsic SOTs and a gradient-driven Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (g-DMI), which breaks the in-plane symmetry during the switching process. Micromagnetic simulations are in agreement with experimental results, and elucidate the role of g-DMI in the deterministic switching. This bias-field-free switching scheme for perpendicular ferrimagnets with g-DMI provides a strategy for efficient and compact SOT device design., Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures
- Published
- 2021
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