Ultralow Electrical Current Driven Field‐Free Spin‐Orbit Torque Switching of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions by Topological Insulators
Abstract Spin‐orbit torque‐driven magnetic random‐access memory (SOT‐MRAM) is one of the promising candidates for next‐generation memory technologies beyond Moore's law. Due to its separation of writing and reading channels, the 3‐terminal device design significantly improves the device endurance of SOT‐MRAM. However, two major challenges still exist for the perpendicular SOT‐MRAM: the ultrahigh writing current density and the need for an external magnetic field to achieve deterministic switching. In this work, a 3‐terminal SOT‐MRAM device is demonstrated that integrates topological insulators (TIs) by perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction (pMTJ). The giant spin‐orbit torque generated by spin‐momentum‐locked topological surface states significantly reduces the switching current density to as low as 3.0 × 10 5 A cm −2 . The double magnetic layers with different saturation magnetizations are employed as the recording layer of TIs‐pMTJ. Therefore, non‐collinear canted magnetic states are generated during the current‐driven SOT. By breaking the chiral symmetry of these states through interlayer Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI), the field‐free deterministic SOT switching is achieved. This work demonstrates the topological insulator‐driven magnetic field‐free SOT‐MRAM with ultralow writing density, inspiring the revolution of SOT‐MRAM technology from classical to quantum materials.
Authors
- Shuo Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4145-7173)
- Xufeng Kou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8860-5105)
- G. Gubbiotti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7006-0370)
- Wenjie Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7785-0263)
- Peng Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6369-2882)
- Baoshan Cui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3877-4744)
- Chuangwen Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0283-0540)
- Hao Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8608-3035)
- Jinkui Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7756-1952)
- Aitian Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3535-9470)
- Xixiang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3478-6414)
- Yaqin Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3357-3449)
- Xiufeng Han
- Yifan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4732-7639)
- Xu Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3991-5748)
- Jingfeng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3910-116X)
- Zhaozhuo Zeng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1955-3516)
- Zijun Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5309-367X)
- Dongxing Zheng
Institutions
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Lanzhou University of Technology (CN)
- ShanghaiTech University (CN)
- Istituto Officina dei Materiali (IT)
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory (CN)
- Institute of Physics (CN)
- Great Bay University
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA)
- Shandong Institute of Business and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Electronic Materials
- Published
- 2025-04-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202500022
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Magnetic properties of thin films
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.49
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
- Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program
- Postdoctoral Research Foundation of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province