Field-free spin-orbit torque switching enabled by interlayer Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

Abstract

Perpendicularly magnetized structures that are switchable using a spin current under field-free conditions can potentially be applied in spin-orbit torque magnetic random-access memory(SOT-MRAM).Several structures have been developed;however,new structures with a simple stack structure and MRAM compatibility are urgently needed.Herein,a typical structure in a perpendicular spin-transfer torque MRAM,the Pt/Co multilayer and its synthetic antiferromagnetic counterpart with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, was observed to possess an intrinsic interlayer chiral interaction between neighboring magnetic layers,namely the interlayer Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) effect. Furthermore, using a current parallel to the eigenvector of the interlayer DMI, we switched the perpendicular magnetization of both structures without a magnetic field, owing to the additional symmetry-breaking introduced by the interlayer DMI. This SOT switching scheme realized in the Pt/Co multilayer and its synthetic antiferromagnet structure may open a new avenue toward practical perpendicular SOT-MRAM and other SOT devices.

References in corpus (3)

• Magnetic asymmetry induced anomalous spin-orbit torque in IrMn
• Field-free switching of magnetic tunnel junctions driven by spin-orbit torques at sub-ns timescales
• Iridium Enabled Field-free Spin-orbit Torque Switching of Perpendicular Magnetic Tunnel Junction Device

Cited by in corpus (7)

• All-antiferromagnetic electrically controlled memory on silicon featuring large tunneling magnetoresistance
• Field-Free Switching in Symmetry Breaking Multilayers: The Critical Role of Interlayer Chiral Exchange
• Magnetic Switching in Monolayer 2D Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors via Spin-to- Spin Conversion
• Observation and formation mechanism of 360° domain wall rings in Synthetic Anti-Ferromagnets with interlayer chiral interactions
• Interlayer Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in synthetic ferrimagnets
• Threshold current of field-free perpendicular magnetization switching using anomalous spin-orbit torque
• Antisymmetric interlayer exchange coupling spontaneously built in synthetic antiferromagnetic structure by film growth