Identifying Switching of Antiferromagnets by Spin-Orbit Torques

Abstract

Antiferromagnets are promising candidates for ultrafast spintronic applications, leveraging current-induced spin-orbit torques. However, experimentally distinguishing between different switching mechanisms of the staggered magnetization (Néel vector) driven by current pulses remains a challenge. In an exemplary study of the collinear antiferromagnetic compound Mn${}_2$Au, we demonstrate that slower thermomagnetoelastic effects predominantly govern switching over a wide parameter range. In the regime of short current pulses in the nanosecond range, however, we observe fully Néel spin-orbit torque driven switching. We show that this ultrafast mechanism enables the complete directional alignment of the Néel vector by current pulses in device structures.

10 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (1)

• Current-driven writing process in antiferromagnetic Mn2Au for memory applications

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Switching magnetization of quantum antiferromagnets: Schwinger boson mean-field theory compared to exact diagonalization