Spin Seebeck imaging of spin-torque switching in antiferromagnetic Pt/NiO heterostructures

Abstract

As electrical control of Néel order opens the door to reliable antiferromagnetic spintronic devices, understanding the microscopic mechanisms of antiferromagnetic switching is crucial. Spatially-resolved studies are necessary to distinguish multiple nonuniform switching mechanisms; however, progress has been hindered by the lack of tabletop techniques to image the Néel order. We demonstrate spin Seebeck microscopy as a sensitive, table-top method for imaging antiferromagnetic order in thin films, and apply this technique to study spin-torque switching in NiO/Pt and Pt/NiO/Pt heterostructures. We establish the interfacial antiferromagnetic spin Seebeck effect in NiO as a probe of surface Néel order, resolving antiferromagnetic spin domains within crystalline twin domains. By imaging before and after applying current-induced spin torque, we resolve spin domain rotation and domain wall motion, acting simultaneously. We correlate the changes in spin Seebeck images with electrical measurements of the average Néel orientation through the spin Hall magnetoresistance, confirming that we image antiferromagnetic order.

arXiv comment26 pages including supporting information

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• Concurrent magneto-optical imaging and magneto-transport readout of electrical switching of insulating antiferromagnetic thin films
• Direct Imaging of Electrical Switching of Antiferromagnetic Néel Order in $\alpha$-Fe${}_2$O${}_3$ Epitaxial Films
• Spin-orbit torque induced electrical switching of antiferromagnetic MnN
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• Atomic Layer Epitaxy of Kagome Magnet Fe${}_3$Sn${}_2$ and Sn-modulated Heterostructures
• Rectification of the spin Seebeck current in noncollinear antiferromagnets
• Distinguishing antiferromagnetic spin sublattices via the spin Seebeck effect
• Quantum spin torque driven transmutation of antiferromagnetic Mott insulator
• Effective strain manipulation of the antiferromagnetic state of polycrystalline NiO
• Fate of entanglement in magnetism under Lindbladian or non-Markovian dynamics and conditions for their transition to Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert classical dynamics
• Systematic study of nonmagnetic resistance changes due to electrical pulsing in single metal layers and metal/antiferromagnet bilayers
• Thermal Contribution in the Electrical Switching Experiments with Heavy Metal / Antiferromagnet Structures
• Nanoscale magnetization and current imaging using scanning-probe magneto-thermal microscopy
• Magnetic sensitivity distribution of Hall devices in antiferromagnetic switching experiments
• Identifiying the domain wall spin structure in current-induced switching of antiferromagnetic NiO/Pt
• Observation of Coherently Coupled Cation Spin Dynamics in an Insulating Ferrimagnetic Oxide
• Probing the Manipulation of Antiferromagnetic Order in CuMnAs Films Using Neutron Diffraction
• Disentangling electrical switching of antiferromagnetic NiO using high magnetic fields
• Epitaxial Growth and Domain Structure Imaging of Kagome Magnet Fe${}_3$Sn${}_2$
• Electrical Modulation and Probing of Antiferromagnetism in Hybrid Multiferroic Heterostructures
• Electrical switching of antiferromagnetic CoO | Pt across the Néel temperature