Vertical-current-induced domain-wall motion in MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions with low current densities
| Autor: | Albert Fert, Yoshinori Nagamine, K. A. Zvezdin, Alexey Vasilyevitch Khvalkovskiy, Vincent Cros, Akio Fukushima, Julie Grollier, Shinji Yuasa, Kazumasa Nishimura, André Chanthbouala, H. Maehara, K. Tsunekawa, Abdelmadjid Anane, Rie Matsumoto |
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| Rok vydání: | 2011 |
| Předmět: |
010302 applied physics
Physics Condensed Matter - Materials Science Work (thermodynamics) Magnetic domain Condensed matter physics Spin-transfer torque Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) FOS: Physical sciences General Physics and Astronomy Motion (geometry) 02 engineering and technology 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 01 natural sciences Domain wall (magnetism) 0103 physical sciences Current (fluid) 0210 nano-technology Order of magnitude |
| Zdroj: | Nature Physics. 7:626-630 |
| ISSN: | 1745-2481 1745-2473 |
| Popis: | Shifting electrically a magnetic domain wall (DW) by the spin transfer mechanism is one of the future ways foreseen for the switching of spintronic memories or registers. The classical geometries where the current is injected in the plane of the magnetic layers suffer from a poor efficiency of the intrinsic torques acting on the DWs. A way to circumvent this problem is to use vertical current injection. In that case, theoretical calculations attribute the microscopic origin of DW displacements to the out-of-plane (field-like) spin transfer torque. Here we report experiments in which we controllably displace a DW in the planar electrode of a magnetic tunnel junction by vertical current injection. Our measurements confirm the major role of the out-of-plane spin torque for DW motion, and allow to quantify this term precisely. The involved current densities are about 100 times smaller than the one commonly observed with in-plane currents. Step by step resistance switching of the magnetic tunnel junction opens a new way for the realization of spintronic memristive devices. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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