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arXiv · 1312.1021

Rashba Spin-Orbit Anisotropy and the Electric Field Control of Magnetism

Stewart E. Barnes·Jun'ichi Ieda·Sadamichi Maekawa
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Abstract

The control of the magnetism of ultra-thin ferromagnetic layers using an electric field rather than a current, if large enough, would lead to many technologically important applications. To date, while it is usually assumed the changes in the magnetic anisotropy, leading to such a control, arises from surface charge doping of the magnetic layer, a number of key experiments cannot be understood within such a scenario. Much studied is the fact that, for non-magnetic metals or semi-conductors, a large surface electric field gives rise to a Rashba spin-orbit coupling which leads to a spin-splitting of the conduction electrons. For a magnet, this splitting is modified by the exchange field resulting in a large magnetic anisotropy energy via the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya mechanism. This different, yet traditional, path to an electrically induced anisotropy energy can explain the electric field, thickness, and material dependence reported in many experiments.

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Stewart E. Barnes, Jun'ichi Ieda, Sadamichi Maekawa. 2013-12-04. Rashba Spin-Orbit Anisotropy and the Electric Field Control of Magnetism. https://arxiv.org/abs/1312.1021

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