Strain effect on the perpendicular magnetization switching driven by spin–orbit torque
In this study, we investigate the influence of strain on spin–orbit torque and current-induced magnetization switching in Ta/Pt/Co/Ta heterostructures deposited on flexible polyimide substrates. By applying strain ranging from −12.5‰ (compressive) to 12.5‰ (tensile), we observe that increasing the strain amplitude reduces coercivity and enhances spin–orbit torque efficiency, collectively leading to a 28.6% reduction in switching current density. The lowest achieved switching current density is 3.07 MA/cm2. Our findings demonstrate strain-mediated tuning of spin–orbit torque and underscore the potential of such heterostructures for flexible spintronic applications.
Authors
- Yongbing Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7823-0725)
- Zhe Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2631-1192)
- Zhihao Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5014-6732)
- Yuzhe Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5129-3593)
- Liang He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5279-0097)
- Yu Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1316-9783)
- Xianyang Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3815-4032)
- Jing Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0007-4328)
- Jun Du (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9967-945X)
- Hang Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5795-0996)
- Yao Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9769-3314)
- Lei Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3509-4011)
- Rong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0015-6331)
- Sicong Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5788-8579)
- Zhuoyi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8048-0495)
- Junwei Hou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1943-5395)
Institutions
- Guangdong University of Technology (CN)
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures (CN)
- Ministry of Education (BD)
- University of York (GB)
- Southeast University (CN)
- Nanjing University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Applied Physics Letters
- Published
- 2025-10-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0285337
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Magnetic properties of thin films
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.25