The analysis of spin current source in current-induced switching of the magnetization in T-type magnetic structures
The schemes for addressing the obstacle of field-free switching driven by spin–orbit torque (SOT) have aroused the interest of spintronic community, for their rich physical phenomena. Here, we utilized the in-plane CoFeB(→)/W/perpendicular CoFeB(↑) design, a magnetic structure of the so-named T-type, to achieve field-free switching in a series of samples with different thicknesses. Through the second-harmonic measurement and the loop-shift method, we get a high effective spin Hall angle ∼0.149 in a 1 nm thin W spacer, indicating that the ultrathin W heavy metal still has sufficient application potential, which can function as both a coupling spacer and a spin source layer. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ferromagnetic materials can also serve as a prominent spin source that facilitates SOT-driven magnetization switching, employing the spin anomalous Hall effect. This investigation contributes valuable insights for the design and integration of spintronic devices in the advancement of sophisticated microelectronics.
Authors
- Maxim E. Stebliy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6988-3196)
- A. V. Davydenko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2697-8563)
- Alexander S. Samardak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5917-4361)
- Shiqiang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5415-4705)
- Xiufeng Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8053-793X)
- Fangshuo Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8448-227X)
- Caihua Wan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5456-1052)
- Alexey V. Ognev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1619-3666)
- Guoqiang Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7439-6920)
- Yingqian Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3771-0255)
- Ran Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5711-6475)
- Xiaohan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9311-6253)
- Jihao Xia
- Jiahui Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7226-4377)
Institutions
- Sakhalin State University (RU)
- Far Eastern Federal University (RU)
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory (CN)
- FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ)
- Institute of Physics (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Applied Physics Letters
- Published
- 2025-08-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0272474
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Magnetic properties of thin films
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.49
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Russian Science Foundation
- Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation
- National Key Research and Development Program of China