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This application note discusses the working principle of spin-transfer torque magnetoresistive random access memory (STT-MRAM) and the impact that magnetic fields can have on STT-MRAM operation. Sources of magnetic field and typical magnitudes of magnetic fields are given. Based on the magnitude of commonly encountered external magnetic fields, we show below that magnetic immunity of STT-MRAM is sufficient for most uses once the chip is mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) or inserted in its working environment. This statement is supported by the experience acquired during 60 years of use of magnetic hard disk drives (HDD) including 20 years of HDD with readers comprising magnetic tunnel junctions, 20+ years of use of magnetic field sensors as position encoders in automotive industry and 15+ years of use of MRAM. Mainly during chip handling does caution need to be exercised to avoid exposing the chip to excessively high magnetic fields.

Magnetic skyrmions are topological spin textures which are envisioned as nanometre scale information carriers in magnetic memory and logic devices. The recent demonstration of room temperature stabilization of skyrmions and their current induced manipulation in industry compatible ultrathin films were first steps towards the realisation of such devices. However, important challenges remain regarding the electrical detection and the low-power nucleation of skyrmions, which are required for the read and write operations. Here, we demonstrate, using operando magnetic microscopy experiments, the electrical detection of a single magnetic skyrmion in a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) and its nucleation and annihilation by gate voltage via voltage control of magnetic anisotropy. The nucleated skyrmion can be further manipulated by both gate voltage and external magnetic field, leading to tunable intermediate resistance states. Our results unambiguously demonstrate the readout and voltage controlled write operations in a single MTJ device, which is a major milestone for low power skyrmion based technologies.

In this work we report a study and a co-design methodology of an analog SNN crossbar output circuit designed in a 28nm FD-SOI technology node that comprises a tunable current attenuator and a leak-integrate and fire neurons that would enable the integration of emerging non-volatile memories (eNVMs) for synaptic arrays based on various technologies including phase change (PCRAM), oxide-based (OxRAM), spin transfer and spin orbit torque magnetic memories (STT, SOT-MRAM). Circuit SPICE simulation results and eNVM experimental data are used to showcase and estimate the neurons fan-in for each type of eNVM considering the technology constraints and design trade-offs that set its limits such as membrane capacitance and supply voltage, etc., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

Current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) enable fast and efficient manipulation of the magnetic state of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), making it attractive for memory, in-memory computing, and logic applications. However, the requirement of the external magnetic field to achieve deterministic switching in perpendicular magnetized SOT-MTJs limits its implementation for practical applications. Here, we introduce a field-free switching (FFS) solution for the SOT-MTJ device by shaping the SOT channel to create a "bend" in the SOT current. The resulting bend in the charge current creates a spatially non-uniform spin current, which translates into inhomogeneous SOT on an adjacent magnetic free layer enabling deterministic switching. We demonstrate FFS experimentally on scaled SOT-MTJs at nanosecond time scales. This proposed scheme is scalable, material-agnostic, and readily compatible with wafer-scale manufacturing, thus creating a pathway for developing purely current-driven SOT systems.

Spin-orbit torques (SOT) provide a versatile tool to manipulate the magnetization of diverse classes of materials and devices using electric currents, leading to novel spintronic memory and computing approaches. In parallel to spin transfer torques (STT), which have emerged as a leading non-volatile memory technologie, SOT broaden the scope of current-induced magnetic switching to applications that run close to the clock speed of the central processing unit and unconventional computing architectures. In this paper, we review the fundamental characteristics of SOT and their use to switch magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices, the elementary unit of the magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM). In the first part, we illustrate the physical mechanisms that drive the SOT and magnetization reversal in nanoscale structures. In the second part, we focus on the SOT-MTJ cell. We discuss the anatomy of the MTJ in terms of materials and stack development, summarize the figures of merit for SOT switching, review the field-free operation of perpendicularly magnetized MTJs, and present options to combine SOT, STT and voltage-gate assisted switching. In the third part, we consider SOT-MRAMs in the perspective of circuit integration processes, introducing considerations on scaling and performance, as well as macro-design architectures. We thus bridge the fundamental description of SOT-driven magnetization dynamics with an application-oriented perspective, including device and system-level considerations, goals, and challenges.

Current-induced spin-orbit torques provide a versatile tool for switching magnetic devices. In perpendicular magnets, the dampinglike component of the torque is the main driver of magnetization reversal. The degree to which the fieldlike torque assists the switching is a matter of debate. Here we study the switching of magnetic tunnel junctions with a CoFeB free layer and either W or Ta underlayers, which have a ratio of fieldlike to dampinglike torque of 0.3 and 1, respectively. We show that the fieldlike torque can either assist or hinder the switching of CoFeB when the static in-plane magnetic field required to define the polarity of spin-orbit torque switching has a component transverse to the current. In particular, the non-collinear alignment of the field and current can be exploited to increase the switching efficiency and reliability compared to the standard collinear alignment. By probing individual switching events in real-time, we also show that the combination of transverse magnetic field and fieldlike torque can accelerate or decelerate the reversal onset. We validate our observations using micromagnetic simulations and extrapolate the results to materials with different torque ratios. Finally, we propose device geometries that leverage the fieldlike torque for density increase in memory applications and synaptic weight generation.

Spin-orbit torques (SOTs) have opened a novel way to manipulate the magnetization using in-plane current, with a great potential for the development of fast and low power information technologies. It has been recently shown that two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) appearing at oxide interfaces provide a highly efficient spin-to-charge current interconversion. The ability to manipulate 2DEGs using gate voltages could offer a degree of freedom lacking in the classical ferromagnetic/spin Hall effect bilayers for spin-orbitronics, in which the sign and amplitude of SOTs at a given current are fixed by the stack structure. Here, we report the non-volatile electric-field control of SOTs in an oxide-based Rashba-Edelstein 2DEG. We demonstrate that the 2DEG is controlled using a back-gate electric-field, providing two remanent and switchable states, with a large resistance contrast of 1064%. The SOTs can then be controlled electrically in a non-volatile way, both in amplitude and in sign. This achievement in a 2DEG-CoFeB/MgO heterostructures with large perpendicular magnetization further validates the compatibility of oxide 2DEGs for magnetic tunnel junction integration, paving the way to the advent of electrically reconfigurable SOT MRAMS circuits, SOT oscillators, skyrmion and domain-wall-based devices, and magnonic circuits.

We use three-terminal magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) designed for field-free switching by spin-orbit torques (SOTs) to systematically study the impact of dual voltage pulses on the switching performances. We show that the concurrent action of an SOT pulse and an MTJ bias pulse allows for reducing the critical switching energy below the level typical of spin transfer torque while preserving the ability to switch the MTJ on the sub-ns time scale. By performing dc and real-time electrical measurements, we discriminate and quantify three effects arising from the MTJ bias: the voltage-controlled change of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, current-induced heating, and the spin transfer torque. The experimental results are supported by micromagnetic modeling. We observe that, depending on the pulse duration and the MTJ diameter, different effects take a lead in assisting the SOTs in the magnetization reversal process. Finally, we present a compact model that allows for evaluating the impact of each effect due to the MTJ bias on the critical switching parameters. Our results provide input to optimize the switching of three-terminal devices as a function of time, size, and material parameters.

Spin-orbit torque (SOT) is an emerging technology that enables the efficient manipulation of spintronic devices. The initial processes of interest in SOTs involved electric fields, spin-orbit coupling, conduction electron spins and magnetization. More recently interest has grown to include a variety of other processes that include phonons, magnons, or heat. Over the past decade, many materials have been explored to achieve a larger SOT efficiency. Recently, holistic design to maximize the performance of SOT devices has extended material research from a nonmagnetic layer to a magnetic layer. The rapid development of SOT has spurred a variety of SOT-based applications. In this Roadmap paper, we first review the theories of SOTs by introducing the various mechanisms thought to generate or control SOTs, such as the spin Hall effect, the Rashba-Edelstein effect, the orbital Hall effect, thermal gradients, magnons, and strain effects. Then, we discuss the materials that enable these effects, including metals, metallic alloys, topological insulators, two-dimensional materials, and complex oxides. We also discuss the important roles in SOT devices of different types of magnetic layers. Afterward, we discuss device applications utilizing SOTs. We discuss and compare three-terminal and two-terminal SOT-magnetoresistive random-access memories (MRAMs); we mention various schemes to eliminate the need for an external field. We provide technological application considerations for SOT-MRAM and give perspectives on SOT-based neuromorphic devices and circuits. In addition to SOT-MRAM, we present SOT-based spintronic terahertz generators, nano-oscillators, and domain wall and skyrmion racetrack memories. This paper aims to achieve a comprehensive review of SOT theory, materials, and applications, guiding future SOT development in both the academic and industrial sectors., Comment: an invited paper in the "Advances in Magnetics" series

Current-induced spin-transfer torques (STT) and spin-orbit torques (SOT) enable the electrical switching of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) in nonvolatile magnetic random access memories. In order to develop faster memory devices, an improvement of the timescales underlying the current driven magnetization dynamics is required. Here we report all-electrical time-resolved measurements of magnetization reversal driven by SOT in a three-terminal MTJ device. Single-shot measurements of the MTJ resistance during current injection reveal that SOT switching involves a stochastic two-step process consisting of a domain nucleation time and propagation time, which have different genesis, timescales, and statistical distributions compared to STT switching. We further show that the combination of SOT, STT, and voltage control of magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) leads to reproducible sub-ns switching with a spread of the cumulative switching time smaller than 0.2 ns. Our measurements unravel the combined impact of SOT, STT, and VCMA in determining the switching speed and efficiency of MTJ devices.

We report time-resolved measurements of magnetization switching by spin-orbit torques in the absence of an external magnetic field in perpendicularly magnetized magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ). Field-free switching is enabled by the dipolar field of an in-plane magnetized layer integrated above the MTJ stack, the orientation of which determines the switching polarity. Real-time single-shot measurements provide direct evidence of magnetization reversal and switching distributions. Close to the critical switching voltage we observe stochastic reversal events due to a finite incubation delay preceding the magnetization reversal. Upon increasing the pulse amplitude to twice the critical voltage the reversal becomes quasi-deterministic, leading to reliable bipolar switching at sub-ns timescales in zero external field. We further investigate the switching probability as a function of dc bias of the MTJ and external magnetic field, providing insight on the parameters that determine the critical switching voltage.

Spin-based electronics has evolved into a major field of research that broadly encompasses different classes of materials, magnetic systems, and devices. This review describes recent advances in spintronics that have the potential to impact key areas of information technology and microelectronics. We identify four main axes of research: nonvolatile memories, magnetic sensors, microwave devices, and beyond-CMOS logic. We discuss state-of-the-art developments in these areas as well as opportunities and challenges that will have to be met, both at the device and system level, in order to integrate novel spintronic functionalities and materials in mainstream microelectronic platforms., Comment: Review written by the SpinFactory European Consortium

We study the generation of propagating spin waves in Ta/CoFeB waveguides by spin-orbit torque antennas and compare them to conventional inductive antennas. The spin-orbit torque was generated by a transverse microwave current across the magnetic waveguide. The detected spin wave signals for an in-plane magnetization across the waveguide (Damon-Eshbach configuration) exhibited the expected phase rotation and amplitude decay upon propagation when the current spreading was taken into account. Wavevectors up to about 6 rad/$\mu$m could be excited by the spin-orbit torque antennas despite the current spreading, presumably due to the non-uniformity of the microwave current. The relative magnitude of generated anti-damping spin-Hall and Oersted fields was calculated within an analytic model and it was found that they contribute approximately equally to the total effective field generated by the spin-orbit torque antenna. Due to the ellipticity of the precession in the ultrathin waveguide and the different orientation of the anti-damping spin-Hall and Oersted fields, the torque was however still dominated by the Oersted field. The prospects for obtaining a pure spin-orbit torque response are discussed, as are the energy efficiency and the scaling properties of spin-orbit torque antennas., Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures

Current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) represent one of the most effective ways to manipulate the magnetization in spintronic devices. The orthogonal torque-magnetization geometry, the strong damping, and the large domain wall velocities inherent to materials with strong spin-orbit coupling make SOTs especially appealing for fast switching applications in nonvolatile memory and logic units. So far, however, the timescale and evolution of the magnetization during the switching process have remained undetected. Here, we report the direct observation of SOT-driven magnetization dynamics in Pt/Co/AlO$_x$ dots during current pulse injection. Time-resolved x-ray images with 25 nm spatial and 100 ps temporal resolution reveal that switching is achieved within the duration of a sub-ns current pulse by the fast nucleation of an inverted domain at the edge of the dot and propagation of a tilted domain wall across the dot. The nucleation point is deterministic and alternates between the four dot quadrants depending on the sign of the magnetization, current, and external field. Our measurements reveal how the magnetic symmetry is broken by the concerted action of both damping-like and field-like SOT and show that reproducible switching events can be obtained for over $10^{12}$ reversal cycles.

Magnetic heterostructures that combine large spin-orbit torque efficiency, perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, and low resistivity are key to develop electrically-controlled memory and logic devices. Here we report on vector measurements of the current-induced spin orbit torques and magnetization switching in perpendicularly magnetized Pd/Co/AlO$_x$ layers as a function of Pd thickness. We find sizeable damping-like (DL) and field-like (FL) torques, of the order of 1~mT per $10^7$~A/cm$^2$, which have different thickness and magnetization angle dependence. The analysis of the DL torque efficiency per unit current density and electric field using drift-diffusion theory leads to an effective spin Hall angle and spin diffusion length of Pd larger than 0.03 and 7~nm, respectively. The FL SOT includes a significant interface contribution, is larger than estimated using drift-diffusion parameters, and is further strongly enhanced upon rotation of the magnetization from the out-of-plane to the in-plane direction. Finally, taking advantage of the large spin-orbit torques in this system, we demonstrate bipolar magnetization switching of Pd/Co/AlO$_x$ layers with similar current density as used for Pt/Co layers with comparable perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

We studied the magnetoresistance of normal metal (NM)/ferromagnet (FM) bilayers in the linear and nonlinear (current-dependent) regimes and compared it with the amplitude of the spin-orbit torques and thermally induced electric fields. Our experiments reveal that the magnetoresistance of the heavy NM/Co bilayers (NM = Ta, W, Pt) is phenomenologically similar to the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) of YIG/Pt, but has a much larger anisotropy, of the order of 0.5%, which increases with the atomic number of the NM. This SMR-like behavior is absent in light NM/Co bilayers (NM = Ti, Cu), which present the standard AMR expected of polycrystalline FM layers. In the Ta, W, Pt/Co bilayers we find an additional magnetoresistance, directly proportional to the current and to the transverse component of the magnetization. This so-called unidirectional SMR, of the order of 0.005%, is largest in W and correlates with the amplitude of the antidamping spin-orbit torque. The unidirectional SMR is below the accuracy of our measurements in YIG/Pt., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures

We demonstrate ultra-fast (down to 400 ps) bipolar magnetization switching of a three-terminal perpendicular Ta/FeCoB/MgO/FeCoB magnetic tunnel junction. The critical current density rises significantly as the current pulse shortens below 10 ns, which translates into a minimum in the write energy in the ns range. Our results show that SOT-MRAM allows fast and low power write operations, which renders it promising for non-volatile cache memory applications., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures

Magnetoresistive effects are usually invariant upon inversion of the magnetization direction. In noncentrosymmetric conductors, however, nonlinear resistive terms can give rise to a current dependence that is quadratic in the applied voltage and linear in the magnetization. Here we demonstrate that such conditions are realized in simple bilayer metal films where the spin-orbit interaction and spin-dependent scattering couple the current-induced spin accumulation to the electrical conductivity. We show that the longitudinal resistance of Ta|Co and Pt|Co bilayers changes when reversing the polarity of the current or the sign of the magnetization. This unidirectional magnetoresistance scales linearly with current density and has opposite sign in Ta and Pt, which we associate with the modification of the interface scattering potential induced by the spin Hall effect in these materials. Our results suggest a route to control the resistance and detect magnetization switching in spintronic devices using a two-terminal geometry, which applies also to heterostructures including topological insulators.

We present harmonic transverse voltage measurements of current-induced thermoelectric and spin-orbit torque (SOT) effects in ferromagnet/normal metal bilayers, in which thermal gradients produced by Joule heating and SOT coexist and give rise to ac transverse signals with comparable symmetry and magnitude. Based on the symmetry and field-dependence of the transverse resistance, we develop a consistent method to separate thermoelectric and SOT measurements. By addressing first ferromagnet/light metal bilayers with negligible spin-orbit coupling, we show that in-plane current injection induces a vertical thermal gradient whose sign and magnitude are determined by the resistivity difference and stacking order of the magnetic and nonmagnetic layers. We then study ferromagnet/heavy metal bilayers with strong spin-orbit coupling, showing that second harmonic thermoelectric contributions to the transverse voltage may lead to a significant overestimation of the antidamping SOT. We find that thermoelectric effects are very strong in Ta(6nm)/Co(2.5nm) and negligible in Pt(6nm)/Co(2.5nm) bilayers. After including these effects in the analysis of the transverse voltage, we find that the antidamping SOTs in these bilayers, after normalization to the magnetization volume, are comparable to those found in thinner Co layers with perpendicular magnetization, whereas the field-like SOTs are about an order of magnitude smaller., Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, 1 table

We present a comprehensive study of the current-induced spin-orbit torques in perpendicularly magnetized Ta/CoFeB/MgO layers. The samples were annealed in steps up to 300 degrees C and characterized using x-ray absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, resistivity, and Hall effect measurements. By performing adiabatic harmonic Hall voltage measurements, we show that the transverse (field-like) and longitudinal (antidamping-like) spin-orbit torques are composed of constant and magnetization-dependent contributions, both of which vary strongly with annealing. Such variations correlate with changes of the saturation magnetization and magnetic anisotropy and are assigned to chemical and structural modifications of the layers. The relative variation of the constant and anisotropic torque terms as a function of annealing temperature is opposite for the field-like and antidamping torques. Measurements of the switching probability using sub-{\mu}s current pulses show that the critical current increases with the magnetic anisotropy of the layers, whereas the switching efficiency, measured as the ratio of magnetic anisotropy energy and pulse energy, decreases. The optimal annealing temperature to achieve maximum magnetic anisotropy, saturation magnetization, and switching efficiency is determined to be between 240 degrees and 270 degrees C.

We report on the current-induced magnetization switching of a three-terminal perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction by spin-orbit torque and the read-out using the tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect. The device is composed of a perpendicular Ta/FeCoB/MgO/FeCoB stack on top of a Ta current line. The magnetization of the bottom FeCoB layer can be switched reproducibly by the injection of current pulses with density $5\times10^{11}$ A/m$^2$ in the Ta layer in the presence of an in-plane bias magnetic field, leading to the full-scale change of the TMR signal. Our work demonstrates the proof of concept of a perpendicular spin-orbit torque magnetic memory cell., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures

Spin-orbit torques induced by spin Hall and interfacial effects in heavy metal/ferromagnetic bilayers allow for a switching geometry based on in-plane current injection. Using this geometry, we demonstrate deterministic magnetization reversal by current pulses ranging from 180~ps to ms in Pt/Co/AlOx dots with lateral dimensions of 90~nm. We characterize the switching probability and critical current $I_c$ as function of pulse length, amplitude, and external field. Our data evidence two distinct regimes: a short-time intrinsic regime, where $I_c$ scales linearly with the inverse of the pulse length, and a long-time thermally assisted regime where $I_c$ varies weakly. Both regimes are consistent with magnetization reversal proceeding by nucleation and fast propagation of domains. We find that $I_c$ is a factor 3-4 smaller compared to a single domain model and that the incubation time is negligibly small, which is a hallmark feature of spin-orbit torques.

Current-induced spin torques are of great interest to manipulate the orientation of nanomagnets without applying external magnetic fields. They find direct application in non-volatile data storage and logic devices, and provide insight into fundamental processes related to the interdependence between charge and spin transport. Recent demonstrations of magnetization switching induced by in-plane current injection in ferromagnetic heterostructures have drawn attention to a class of spin torques based on orbital-to-spin momentum transfer, which is alternative to pure spin transfer torque (STT) between noncollinear magnetic layers and amenable to more diversified device functions. Due to the limited number of studies, however, there is still no consensus on the symmetry, magnitude, and origin of spin-orbit torques (SOTs). Here we report on the quantitative vector measurement of SOTs in Pt/Co/AlO trilayers using harmonic analysis of the anomalous and planar Hall effects as a function of the applied current and magnetization direction. We provide an all-purpose scheme to measure the amplitude and direction of SOTs for any arbitrary orientation of the magnetization, including corrections due to the interplay of Hall and thermoelectric effects. Based on general space and time inversion symmetry arguments, we show that asymmetric heterostructures allow for two different SOTs having odd and even behavior with respect to magnetization reversal. Our results reveal a scenario that goes beyond established models of the Rashba and spin Hall contributions to SOTs. The even SOT is STT-like but stronger than expected from the spin Hall effect in Pt. The odd SOT is composed of a constant field-like term and an additional component, which is strongly anisotropic and does not correspond to a simple Rashba field., Comment: Supplementary Informations follows Paper in the .pdf file