IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v14y2023i1d10.1038_s41467-023-39649-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Field-free spin-orbit torque switching assisted by in-plane unconventional spin torque in ultrathin [Pt/Co]N

Author

Listed:
  • Fen Xue

    (Stanford University)

  • Shy-Jay Lin

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company)

  • Mingyuan Song

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company)

  • William Hwang

    (Stanford University)

  • Christoph Klewe

    (Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

  • Chien-Min Lee

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company)

  • Emrah Turgut

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company)

  • Padraic Shafer

    (Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

  • Arturas Vailionis

    (Stanford University
    Kaunas University of Technology)

  • Yen-Lin Huang

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company)

  • Wilman Tsai

    (Stanford University)

  • Xinyu Bao

    (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company)

  • Shan X. Wang

    (Stanford University
    Stanford University)

Abstract

Electrical manipulation of magnetization without an external magnetic field is critical for the development of advanced non-volatile magnetic-memory technology that can achieve high memory density and low energy consumption. Several recent studies have revealed efficient out-of-plane spin-orbit torques (SOTs) in a variety of materials for field-free type-z SOT switching. Here, we report on the corresponding type-x configuration, showing significant in-plane unconventional spin polarizations from sputtered ultrathin [Pt/Co]N, which are either highly textured on single crystalline MgO substrates or randomly textured on SiO2 coated Si substrates. The unconventional spin currents generated in the low-dimensional Co films result from the strong orbital magnetic moment, which has been observed by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurement. The x-polarized spin torque efficiency reaches up to −0.083 and favors complete field-free switching of CoFeB magnetized along the in-plane charge current direction. Micromagnetic simulations additionally demonstrate its lower switching current than type-y switching, especially in narrow current pulses. Our work provides additional pathways for electrical manipulation of spintronic devices in the pursuit of high-speed, high-density, and low-energy non-volatile memory.

Suggested Citation

  • Fen Xue & Shy-Jay Lin & Mingyuan Song & William Hwang & Christoph Klewe & Chien-Min Lee & Emrah Turgut & Padraic Shafer & Arturas Vailionis & Yen-Lin Huang & Wilman Tsai & Xinyu Bao & Shan X. Wang, 2023. "Field-free spin-orbit torque switching assisted by in-plane unconventional spin torque in ultrathin [Pt/Co]N," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-39649-1
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39649-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39649-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-023-39649-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. T. Nan & C. X. Quintela & J. Irwin & G. Gurung & D. F. Shao & J. Gibbons & N. Campbell & K. Song & S. -Y. Choi & L. Guo & R. D. Johnson & P. Manuel & R. V. Chopdekar & I. Hallsteinsen & T. Tybell & P., 2020. "Controlling spin current polarization through non-collinear antiferromagnetism," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-7, December.
    2. Stephen M. Winter & Kira Riedl & Pavel A. Maksimov & Alexander L. Chernyshev & Andreas Honecker & Roser Valentí, 2017. "Breakdown of magnons in a strongly spin-orbital coupled magnet," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. A. van den Brink & G. Vermijs & A. Solignac & J. Koo & J. T. Kohlhepp & H. J. M. Swagten & B. Koopmans, 2016. "Field-free magnetization reversal by spin-Hall effect and exchange bias," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-6, April.
    4. P. Gambardella & A. Dallmeyer & K. Maiti & M. C. Malagoli & W. Eberhardt & K. Kern & C. Carbone, 2002. "Ferromagnetism in one-dimensional monatomic metal chains," Nature, Nature, vol. 416(6878), pages 301-304, March.
    5. Liang Liu & Chenghang Zhou & Tieyang Zhao & Bingqing Yao & Jing Zhou & Xinyu Shu & Shaohai Chen & Shu Shi & Shibo Xi & Da Lan & Weinan Lin & Qidong Xie & Lizhu Ren & Zhaoyang Luo & Chao Sun & Ping Yan, 2022. "Current-induced self-switching of perpendicular magnetization in CoPt single layer," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuhe Yang & Ping Wang & Jiali Chen & Delin Zhang & Chang Pan & Shuai Hu & Ting Wang & Wensi Yue & Cheng Chen & Wei Jiang & Lujun Zhu & Xuepeng Qiu & Yugui Yao & Yue Li & Wenhong Wang & Yong Jiang, 2024. "Orbital torque switching in perpendicularly magnetized materials," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mengxi Wang & Jun Zhou & Xiaoguang Xu & Tanzhao Zhang & Zhiqiang Zhu & Zhixian Guo & Yibo Deng & Ming Yang & Kangkang Meng & Bin He & Jialiang Li & Guoqiang Yu & Tao Zhu & Ang Li & Xiaodong Han & Yong, 2023. "Field-free spin-orbit torque switching via out-of-plane spin-polarization induced by an antiferromagnetic insulator/heavy metal interface," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Yahong Chai & Yuhan Liang & Cancheng Xiao & Yue Wang & Bo Li & Dingsong Jiang & Pratap Pal & Yongjian Tang & Hetian Chen & Yuejie Zhang & Hao Bai & Teng Xu & Wanjun Jiang & Witold Skowroński & Qinghua, 2024. "Voltage control of multiferroic magnon torque for reconfigurable logic-in-memory," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Sergey V. Kolesnikov & Ekaterina S. Sapronova & Inna N. Kolesnikova, 2023. "Ground and excited states of the finite-size Fe chains on Pt(664) surface," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 96(12), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Cheng-Hsiang Hsu & Miela J. Gross & Hannah Calzi Kleidermacher & Shehrin Sayed & Sayeef Salahuddin, 2024. "Tunable multistate field-free switching and ratchet effect by spin-orbit torque in canted ferrimagnetic alloy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Binoy K. Hazra & Banabir Pal & Jae-Chun Jeon & Robin R. Neumann & Börge Göbel & Bharat Grover & Hakan Deniz & Andriy Styervoyedov & Holger Meyerheim & Ingrid Mertig & See-Hun Yang & Stuart S. P. Parki, 2023. "Generation of out-of-plane polarized spin current by spin swapping," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-7, December.
    6. Yang Cao & Hao Ding & Yalu Zuo & Xiling Li & Yibing Zhao & Tong Li & Na Lei & Jiangwei Cao & Mingsu Si & Li Xi & Chenglong Jia & Desheng Xue & Dezheng Yang, 2024. "Acoustic spin rotation in heavy-metal-ferromagnet bilayers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    7. Han Li & Enze Lv & Ning Xi & Yuan Gao & Yang Qi & Wei Li & Gang Su, 2024. "Magnetocaloric effect of topological excitations in Kitaev magnets," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    8. Furong Han & Jing Zhang & Fan Yang & Bo Li & Yu He & Guansong Li & Youxiang Chen & Qisheng Jiang & Yan Huang & Hui Zhang & Jine Zhang & Huaiwen Yang & Huiying Liu & Qinghua Zhang & Hao Wu & Jingsheng , 2024. "Generation of out-of-plane polarized spin current by non-uniform oxygen octahedral tilt/rotation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    9. Yunfeng You & Hua Bai & Xiaoyu Feng & Xiaolong Fan & Lei Han & Xiaofeng Zhou & Yongjian Zhou & Ruiqi Zhang & Tongjin Chen & Feng Pan & Cheng Song, 2021. "Cluster magnetic octupole induced out-of-plane spin polarization in antiperovskite antiferromagnet," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
    10. Man Yang & Liang Sun & Yulun Zeng & Jun Cheng & Kang He & Xi Yang & Ziqiang Wang & Longqian Yu & Heng Niu & Tongzhou Ji & Gong Chen & Bingfeng Miao & Xiangrong Wang & Haifeng Ding, 2024. "Highly efficient field-free switching of perpendicular yttrium iron garnet with collinear spin current," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-7, December.
    11. Kouta Kondou & Hua Chen & Takahiro Tomita & Muhammad Ikhlas & Tomoya Higo & Allan H. MacDonald & Satoru Nakatsuji & YoshiChika Otani, 2021. "Giant field-like torque by the out-of-plane magnetic spin Hall effect in a topological antiferromagnet," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
    12. Sihao Deng & Olena Gomonay & Jie Chen & Gerda Fischer & Lunhua He & Cong Wang & Qingzhen Huang & Feiran Shen & Zhijian Tan & Rui Zhou & Ze Hu & Libor Šmejkal & Jairo Sinova & Wolfgang Wernsdorfer & Ch, 2024. "Phase transitions associated with magnetic-field induced topological orbital momenta in a non-collinear antiferromagnet," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    13. Xu-Guang Zhou & Han Li & Yasuhiro H. Matsuda & Akira Matsuo & Wei Li & Nobuyuki Kurita & Gang Su & Koichi Kindo & Hidekazu Tanaka, 2023. "Possible intermediate quantum spin liquid phase in α-RuCl3 under high magnetic fields up to 100 T," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-7, December.
    14. Yuki Hibino & Tomohiro Taniguchi & Kay Yakushiji & Akio Fukushima & Hitoshi Kubota & Shinji Yuasa, 2021. "Giant charge-to-spin conversion in ferromagnet via spin-orbit coupling," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-7, December.
    15. Xiaojian Bai & Shang-Shun Zhang & Hao Zhang & Zhiling Dun & W. Adam Phelan & V. Ovidiu Garlea & Martin Mourigal & Cristian D. Batista, 2023. "Instabilities of heavy magnons in an anisotropic magnet," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    16. Shuai Hu & Ding-Fu Shao & Huanglin Yang & Chang Pan & Zhenxiao Fu & Meng Tang & Yumeng Yang & Weijia Fan & Shiming Zhou & Evgeny Y. Tsymbal & Xuepeng Qiu, 2022. "Efficient perpendicular magnetization switching by a magnetic spin Hall effect in a noncollinear antiferromagnet," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-7, December.
    17. Cuimei Cao & Shiwei Chen & Rui-Chun Xiao & Zengtai Zhu & Guoqiang Yu & Yangping Wang & Xuepeng Qiu & Liang Liu & Tieyang Zhao & Ding-Fu Shao & Yang Xu & Jingsheng Chen & Qingfeng Zhan, 2023. "Anomalous spin current anisotropy in a noncollinear antiferromagnet," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-39649-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.