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arXiv · 2410.02238

Orbital torque switching of perpendicular magnetization in light metal/ferrimagnet bilayers

Teng Xu·Aihua Tang·Kang Wang·Yizhou Liu·Haifeng Du
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Abstract

Orbital torque, associated with orbital current, enables light metals to efficiently manipulate magnetization with rich tunability. A clear demonstration of perpendicular magnetization switching using light metals alone is essential for understanding orbital physics and developing high-density orbitronic devices. Here, we report orbital torque switching of perpendicular magnetization in light metal (Ti, V, Cr)/ferrimagnet (Fe1-xGdx) bilayers. Taking the Ti/ Fe1-xGdx sample as a model system, the torque efficiency increases four-fold by enhancing the spin-orbit coupling in Fe1-xGdx through modulating Gd composition, which is a characteristic feature of orbital torque. Our findings demonstrate that light metals in combination with rare earth-transition metal ferrimagnets can be employed for efficient orbitronic devices and serve as a model system for studying orbitronics.

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Teng Xu, Aihua Tang, Kang Wang, Yizhou Liu, Haifeng Du. 2024-10-03. Orbital torque switching of perpendicular magnetization in light metal/ferrimagnet bilayers. https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.02238

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