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Current driven switching of magnetic layers

C. Heide·P. E. Zilberman·R. J. Elliott
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Abstract

The switching of magnetic layers is studied under the action of a spin current in a ferromagnetic metal/non-magnetic metal/ferromagnetic metal spin valve. We find that the main contribution to the switching comes from the non-equilibrium exchange interaction between the ferromagnetic layers. This interaction defines the magnetic configuration of the layers with minimum energy and establishes the threshold for a critical switching current. Depending on the direction of the critical current, the interaction changes sign and a given magnetic configuration becomes unstable. To model the time dependence of the switching process, we derive a set of coupled Landau-Lifshitz equations for the ferromagnetic layers. Higher order terms in the non-equilibrium exchange coupling allow the system to evolve to its steady-state configuration.

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C. Heide, P. E. Zilberman, R. J. Elliott. 2000-08-09. Current driven switching of magnetic layers. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.63.064424

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