An Effective Reduction of Critical Current for Current-Induced Magnetization Switching by a Ru Layer Insertion in an Exchange-Biased Spin-Valve

Abstract

Recently it has been predicted that a spin-polarized electrical current perpendicular-to-plane (CPP) directly flowing through a magnetic element can induce magnetization switching through spin-momentum transfer. In this letter, the first observation of current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) in exchange-biased spin-valves (ESPVs) at room temperature is reported. The ESPVs show the CIMS behavior under a sweeping dc current with a very high critical current density. It is demonstrated that a thin Ruthenium (Ru) layer inserted between a free layer and a top electrode effectively reduces the critical current densities for the CIMS. An "inverse" CIMS behavior is also observed when the thickness of the free layer increases.

15 pages with figures

References in corpus (4)

• Anatomy of Spin-Transfer Torque
• Mechanisms of spin-polarized current-driven magnetization switching
• The Role of Spin-Dependent Interface Scattering in Generating Current-Induced Torques in Magnetic Multilayers
• A self-consistent treatment of non-equilibrium spin torques in magnetic multilayers

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• Detailed and high-throughput measurement of composition dependence of magnetoresistance and spin-transfer torque using a composition-gradient film: application to Co${}_x$Fe${}_{1-x}$ (0 $\le$ $\text{x}$ $\le$ 1) system