Angular dependence of spin-orbit spin transfer torques

Abstract

In ferromagnet/heavy metal bilayers, an in-plane current gives rise to spin-orbit spin transfer torque which is usually decomposed into field-like and damping-like torques. For two-dimensional free-electron and tight-binding models with Rashba spin-orbit coupling, the field-like torque acquires nontrivial dependence on the magnetization direction when the Rashba spin-orbit coupling becomes comparable to the exchange interaction. This nontrivial angular dependence of the field-like torque is related to the Fermi surface distortion, determined by the ratio of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling to the exchange interaction. On the other hand, the damping-like torque acquires nontrivial angular dependence when the Rashba spin-orbit coupling is comparable to or stronger than the exchange interaction. It is related to the combined effects of the Fermi surface distortion and the Fermi sea contribution. The angular dependence is consistent with experimental observations and can be important to understand magnetization dynamics induced by spin-orbit spin transfer torques

9 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (8)

• Spin current and polarization in impure 2D electron systems with spin-orbit coupling
• Angular and temperature dependence of current induced spin-orbit effective fields in Ta/CoFeB/MgO nanowires
• Current-induced domain wall motion in Rashba spin-orbit system
• Absence of vertex correction for the spin Hall effect in p-type semiconductors
• Dissipation effects in spin-Hall transport of electrons and holes
• Current-induced motion of a transverse magnetic domain wall in the presence of spin Hall effect
• Small-angle impurity scattering and the spin Hall conductivity in 2D systems
• Control of current-induced spin-orbit effects in a ferromagnetic heterostructure by electric field

Cited by in corpus (10)

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• Effective field analysis using the full angular spin-orbit torque magnetometry dependence
• Accurate analysis for harmonic Hall voltage measurement for spin-orbit torques
• Macro-spin Modeling and Experimental Study of Spin-orbit Torque Biased Magnetic Sensors
• Interfacial Rashba magnetoresistance of two-dimensional electron gas at LaAlO${}_3$/SrTiO${}_3$ interface
• Semitransparent anisotropic and spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor enabled by spin-orbit toque biasing
• Quantitative characterization of spin-orbit torques in Pt/Co/Pt /Co/Ta/BTO heterostructure on the magnetization azimuthal angle dependence
• Rashba torque beyond the Boltzmann regime