Energy-efficient ultrafast SOT-MRAMs based on low-resistivity spin Hall metal Au0.25Pt0.75

Abstract

Many key electronic technologies (e.g., large-scale computing, machine learning, and superconducting electronics) require new memories that are fast, reliable, energy-efficient, and of low-impedance at the same time, which has remained a challenge. Non-volatile magnetoresistive random access memories (MRAMs) driven by spin-orbit torques (SOTs) have promise to be faster and more energy-efficient than conventional semiconductor and spin-transfer-torque magnetic memories. This work reports that the spin Hall effect of low-resistivity Au0.25Pt0.75 thin films enables ultrafast antidamping-torque switching of SOT-MRAM devices for current pulse widths as short as 200 ps. If combined with industrial-quality lithography and already-demonstrated interfacial engineering, our results show that an optimized MRAM cell based on Au0.25Pt0.75 can have energy-efficient, ultrafast, and reliable switching, e.g. a write energy of < 1 fJ (< 50 fJ) for write error rate of 50% (<1e-5) for 1 ns pulses. The antidamping torque switching of the Au0.25Pt0.75 devices is 10 times faster than expected from a rigid macrospin model, most likely because of the fast micromagnetics due to the enhanced non-uniformity within the free layer. These results demonstrate the feasibility of Au0.25Pt0.75-based SOT-MRAMs as a candidate for ultrafast, reliable, energy-efficient, low-impedance, and unlimited-endurance memory.

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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Maximizing Spin-Orbit Torque Generated by the Spin Hall Effect of Pt
• Fully Spin-transparent magnetic interfaces enabled by insertion of a paramagnetic NiO layer
• Switching of Perpendicular Magnetization by Spin-Orbit Torque
• Observation of strong bulk damping-like spin-orbit torque in chemically disordered ferromagnetic single layers
• Interplay of voltage control of magnetic anisotropy, spin transfer torque, and heat in the spin-orbit torque switching in three-terminal magnetic tunnel junctions
• Lack of simple correlation between switching current density and spin-orbit torque efficiency of perpendicularly magnetized spin-current generator/ferromagnet heterostructures
• Unveiling the mechanism of bulk spin-orbit torques within chemically disordered Fe${}_x$Pt${}_{1-x}$ single layers
• Strong Spin-Orbit Torque Induced by the Intrinsic Spin Hall Effect in Cr1-xPtx
• Spin-Orbit-Torque-based Devices, Circuits and Architectures
• Odd symmetry planar Hall effect: A method of detecting current-induced in-plane magnetization switching