Giant bulk spin-orbit torque and efficient electrical switching in single ferrimagnetic FeTb layers with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Abstract

Efficient manipulation of antiferromagnetically coupled materials that are integration-friendly and have strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is of great interest for low-power, fast, dense magnetic storage and computing. Here, we report a distinct, giant bulk damping-like spin-orbit torque in strong-PMA ferrimagnetic Fe100-xTbx single layers that are integration-friendly (composition-uniform, amorphous, sputter-deposited). For sufficiently-thick layers, this bulk torque is constant in the efficiency per unit layer thickness, ξ_DL^j/t, with a record-high value of 0.036nm-1, and the dampinglike torque efficiency ξ_DL^j achieves very large values for thick layers, up to 300% for 90 nm layers. This giant bulk torque by itself switches tens of nm thick Fe100-xTbx layers that have very strong PMA and high coercivity at current densities as low as a few MA/cm2. Surprisingly, for a given layer thickness, ξ_DL^j shows strong composition dependence and becomes negative for composition where the total angular momentum is oriented parallel to the magnetization rather than antiparallel. Our findings of giant bulk spin torque efficiency and intriguing torque-compensation correlation will stimulate study of such unique spin-orbit phenomena in a variety of ferrimagnetic hosts. This work paves a promising avenue for developing ultralow-power, fast, dense ferrimagnetic storage and computing devices.

To appear in Applied Physics Reviews

References in corpus (8)

• Spin-orbit torques in heavy metal/ferromagnet bilayers with varying strength of interfacial spin-orbit coupling
• Strong damping-like spin-orbit torque and tunable Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction generated by low-resistivity Pd${}_{1-x}$Pt${}_x$ alloys
• Maximizing Spin-Orbit Torque Generated by the Spin Hall Effect of Pt
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• Current-induced magnetization switching in CoTb amorphous single layer
• Observation of strong bulk damping-like spin-orbit torque in chemically disordered ferromagnetic single layers
• Unveiling the mechanism of bulk spin-orbit torques within chemically disordered Fe${}_x$Pt${}_{1-x}$ single layers
• Nonlocal electrical detection of spin accumulation generated by Anomalous Hall effects in mesoscopic Ni_81Fe_19 films

Cited by in corpus (12)

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• Current-induced perpendicular effective magnetic field in magnetic heterostructures
• Boosting spin-orbit torque efficiency in spin-current generator/magnet/oxide superlattices
• Single-layer spin-orbit-torque magnetization switching due to spin Berry curvature generated by minute spontaneous atomic displacement in a Weyl oxide
• Microscopic mechanisms of Strong Electron Scattering and Giant Anomalous Hall Effect in high-Curie-temperature Fe3GaTe2 van der Waals Films
• Vertically Graded Fe-Ni Alloys with Low Damping and a Sizeable Spin-Orbit Torque
• Linear Enhancement of Spin-Orbit Torques and Absence of Bulk Rashba-Type Spin Splitting in Perpendicularly Magnetized [Pt/Co/W]n Superlattices
• Giant coercivity, resistivity upturn, and anomalous Hall effect in ferrimagnetic FeTb
• A Two-Field-Scan Harmonic Hall Voltage Analysis For Fast, Accurate Quantification Of Spin-Orbit Torques In Magnetic Heterostructures
• Spin current symmetries generated by GdFeCo ferrimagnet across its magnetisation compensation temperature