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arXiv · 1709.07127

Current-induced magnetization switching using electrically-insulating spin-torque generator

Hongyu An·Takeo Ohno·Yusuke Kanno·Yuito Kageyama·Yasuaki Monnai·Hideyuki Maki·Ji Shi·Kazuya Ando
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Abstract

Current-induced magnetization switching through spin-orbit torques (SOTs) is the fundamental building block of spin-orbitronics. The SOTs generally arise from the spin-orbit coupling of heavy metals. However, even in a heterostructure where a metallic magnet is sandwiched by two different insulators, a nonzero current-induced SOT is expected because of the broken inversion symmetry; an electrical insulator can be a spin-torque generator. Here, we demonstrate current-induced magnetization switching using an insulator. We show that oxygen incorporation into the most widely used spintronic material, Pt, turns the heavy metal into an electrically-insulating generator of the SOTs, enabling the electrical switching of perpendicular magnetization in a ferrimagnet sandwiched by electrically-insulating oxides. We further found that the SOTs generated from the Pt oxide can be controlled electrically through voltage-driven oxygen migration. These findings open a route towards energy-efficient, voltage-programmable spin-orbit devices based on solid-state switching of heavy metal oxidation.

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Hongyu An, Takeo Ohno, Yusuke Kanno, Yuito Kageyama, Yasuaki Monnai, Hideyuki Maki, Ji Shi, Kazuya Ando. 2017-09-21. Current-induced magnetization switching using electrically-insulating spin-torque generator. https://arxiv.org/abs/1709.07127

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