Electric field control of nonvolatile four-state magnetization at room temperature
Sae Hwan Chun, Yi Sheng Chai, Byung-Gu Jeon, Hyung Joon Kim, Yoon Seok Oh, Ingyu Kim, Hanbit Kim, Byeong Jo Jeon, So Young Haam, Ju-Young Park, Suk Ho Lee, Jae-… 展开作者
Sae Hwan Chun, Yi Sheng Chai, Byung-Gu Jeon, Hyung Joon Kim, Yoon Seok Oh, Ingyu Kim, Hanbit Kim, Byeong Jo Jeon, So Young Haam, Ju-Young Park, Suk Ho Lee, Jae-Ho Chung, Jae-Hoon Park, Kee Hoon Kim
We find the realization of large converse magnetoelectric (ME) effects at room temperature in a multiferroic hexaferrite Ba$_{0.52}$Sr$_{2.48}$Co$_{2}$Fe$_{24}$O$_{41}$ single crystal, in which rapid change of electric polarization in low magnetic fields (about 5 mT) is coined to a large ME susceptibility of 3200 ps/m. The modulation of magnetization then reaches up to 0.62 $μ$$_{B}$/f.u. in an electric field of 1.14 MV/m. We find further that four ME states induced by different ME poling exhibit unique, nonvolatile magnetization versus electric field curves, which can be approximately described by an effective free energy with a distinct set of ME coefficients.
We investigate different approaches towards a nonvolatile switching of the remanent magnetization in single-crystalline ferromagnets at room temperature via elastic strain using ferromagnetic thin film/piezoelectric actuator hybrids. The piezoelectric actuator induces a voltage-controllable strain along different crystalline directions of the ferromagnetic thin film, resulting in modifications of its magnetization by converse magnetoelastic effects. We quantify the magnetization changes in the hybrids via ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy and superconducting quantum interference device magn…
We propose and computationally analyze a nonvolatile static random access memory (NV-SRAM) cell using magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with magnetic-field-free current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) architecture. A pair of MTJs connected to the storage nodes of a standard SRAM cell with CIMS architecture enables fully electrical store and restore operations for nonvolatile logic information. The proposed NV-SRAM is expected to be a key component of next-generation power-gating logic systems with extremely low static-power dissipation.
Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a phase change material that can reversibly change between high and low resistivity states through electronic and structural phase transitions. Thus far, VO2 memory devices have essentially been volatile at room temperature, and nonvolatile memory has required non-ambient surroundings (e.g., elevated temperatures, electrolytes) and long write times. Here, we report the first observation of optically addressable nonvolatile memory in VO2 at room temperature with a readout by voltage oscillations. The read and write times had to be kept shorter than about 150 μs. The wr…
Room-Temperature Highly-Tunable Coercivity and Highly-Efficient Nonvolatile Multi-States Magnetization Switching by Small Current in Single 2D Ferromagnet Fe$_3$GaTe$_2$
The coexistence and coupling between magnetization and electric polarization in multiferroic materials provide extra degrees of freedom for creating next-generation memory devices. A variety of concepts of multiferroic or magnetoelectric memories have been proposed and explored in the past decade. Here we propose a new principle to realize a multilevel nonvolatile memory based on the multiple states of the magnetoelectric coefficient (α) of multiferroics. Because the states of α depends on the relative orientation between magnetization and polarization, one can reach different levels of α by c…
In a recent article, A. Chen et al. claimed that they have switched (rotated by ~90 degrees) the magnetization of the soft layer of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) in a non-volatile way with volatile strain by exploiting dipole interaction with the hard layer. I show that dipole interaction cannot cause this effect and the authors' explanation cannot be correct. An alternate explanation is offered.
We investigated the low temperature performance of CoFeB/MgO based perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (pMTJs) by characterizing their quasi-static switching voltage, high speed pulse write error rate and endurance down to 9 K. pMTJ devices exhibited high magnetoresistance (>120%) and reliable (error rate<10-4) bi-directional switching with 2 to 200 ns voltage pulses. The endurance of the devices at 9 K surpassed that at 300 K by three orders of magnitude under the same write conditions, functioning for more than 10^12 cycles with 10 ns write pulses. The critical switching voltage at 9 K w…
Machine-learning-identified two-dimensional van der Waals multiferroics for four-state nonvolatile memory
College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University（深圳大学物理与光电工程学院）；International School of Microelectronics, Dongguan University of Technology（东莞理工学院微电子学院）
In condensed-matter systems, competition between ground states at phase boundaries can lead to significant changes in material properties under external stimuli, particularly when these ground states have different crystal symmetries. A key scientific and technological challenge is to stabilize and control coexistence of symmetry-distinct phases with external stimuli. Using BiFeO3 (BFO) layers confined between layers of the dielectric TbScO3 as a model system, we stabilize the mixed-phase coexistence of centrosymmetric and non-centrosymmetric BFO phases with antipolar, insulating and polar, se…
Spin-orbit torque (SOT) provides an efficient way to achieve charge-to-spin conversion and can switch perpendicular magnetization, which is essential for designing novel energy-efficient spintronic devices. An out-of-plane SOT could directly switch perpendicular magnetization. Encouragingly, field-free perpendicular magnetization switching of a two-dimensional (2D) material WTe2/ferromagnet (FM) bilayer has been reported recently, but the working temperature (200 K) is below room temperature. Here, we report the field-free perpendicular magnetization switching carried out at room temperature o…
Voltage-induced magnetization dynamics in a conically magnetized free layer with an elliptic cylinder shape is theoretically studied on the basis of the macrospin model. It is found that an application of voltage pulse can induce the precessional switching of magnetization even at zero-bias magnetic field, which is of substantial importance for device applications such as voltage-controlled nonvolatile memory. Analytical expressions of the conditions for precessional switching are derived.
Voltage-driven 180$^\circ$ magnetization switching without electric current provides the possibility for revolutionizing the spintronics. We demonstrated the voltage-driven charge-mediated 180$^\circ$ magnetization switching at room temperature by combining first-principles calculations and temperature-dependent magnetization dynamics simulation. The electric field ($E$) induced interface charge is found to allow a giant modulation of the magnetic anisotropy ($K$) of the nanomagnet. Particularly $K$ is revealed to vary linearly with respect to $E$ and the epitaxial strain. Magnetization dynami…
We demonstrate room-temperature ferromagnetism with in-plane magnetic anisotropy in thin flakes of the CrTe$_2$ van der Waals ferromagnet. Using quantitative magnetic imaging with a single spin magnetometer based on a nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond, we infer a room-temperature in-plane magnetization in the range of $M\sim 27$ kA/m for flakes with thicknesses down to $20$ nm. In addition, our measurements indicate that the orientation of the magnetization is not determined solely by shape anisotropy in micron-sized CrTe$_2$ flakes, which suggest the existence of a non-negligible magnetocrys…
The electric-field-modulated resistance switching in VO2 thin films grown on piezoelectric (111)-0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.32PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) substrates has been investigated. Large relative change in resistance (10.7%) was observed in VO2/PMN-PT(111) hererostructures at room temperature. For a substrate with a given polarization direction, stable resistive states of VO2 films can be realized even when the applied electric fields are removed from the heterostructures. By sweeping electric fields across the heterostructure appropriately, multiple resistive states can be achieved. These stable resis…
Energy-efficient control of magnetization without the help of a magnetic field is a key goal of spintronics. Purely heat-induced single-pulse all-optical toggle switching has been demonstrated, but so far only in Gd based amorphous ferrimagnet films. In this work, we demonstrate toggle switching in the half-metallic compensated ferrimagnetic Heusler alloys Mn2RuxGa, which have two crystallographically-inequivalent Mn sublattices. Moreover, we observe the switching at room temperature in samples that are immune to external magnetic fields in excess of 1 T, provided they exhibit compensation abo…
Ferroelectrics are essential in low-dimensional memory devices for multi-bit storage and high-density integration. A polar structure is a necessary premise for ferroelectricity, mainly existing in compounds. However, it is usually rare in elemental materials, causing a lack of spontaneous electric polarization. Here, we report an unexpected room-temperature ferroelectricity in few-chain Te nanowires. Out-of-plane ferroelectric loops and domain reversal are observed by piezoresponse force microscopy. Through density functional theory, we attribute the ferroelectricity to the ion-displacement cr…
Room temperature ferromagnetic semiconductor rutile Ti1-xCoxO2-δ(101) epitaxial thin films were grown on r-sapphire substrates by a dc sputtering method. Ferromagnetic magnetization, magnetic circular dichroism, and anomalous Hall effect were clearly observed at room temperature in sputter-grown films for the first time. The magnetization value is nearly as large as 3μB/Co that is consistent with the high spin state Co2+ in this compound recently established by spectroscopic methods. Consequently, its originally large magneto-optical response is further enhanced.
We report the chemical synthesis route, structural characterization, and physical properties of nanofluid magnetic graphite (NFMG) obtained from the previously synthesized bulk organic magnetic graphite (MG) by stabilizing the aqueous ferrofluid suspension with an addition of active cationic surfactant. The measured magnetization-field hysteresis curves along with the temperature dependence of magnetization confirmed room-temperature ferromagnetism in both MG and NFMG samples.
We have studied the effect of magnetic field on a non-stoichiometric Heusler alloy Ni$_{50}$Mn$_{35}$In$_{15}$ that undergoes a martensitic as well as a magnetic transition near room temperature. Temperature dependent magnetization measurements demonstrate the influence of magnetic field on the structural phase transition temperature. From the study of magnetization as a function of applied field, we show the occurrence of inverse-magnetocaloric effect associated with this magneto-structural transition. The magnetic entropy change attains a value as high as 25 J/kg-K (at 5 T field) at room tem…
We have investigated the magnetic properties of a piezoelectric actuator/ferromagnetic semiconductor hybrid structure. Using a GaMnAs epilayer as the ferromagnetic semiconductor and applying the piezo-stress along its [110] direction, we quantify the magnetic anisotropy as a function of the voltage V_p applied to the piezoelectric actuator using anisotropic magnetoresistance techniques. We find that the easy axis of the strain-induced uniaxial magnetic anisotropy contribution can be inverted from the [110] to the [1-10] direction via the application of appropriate voltages V_p. At T=5K the mag…
The control of magnetic properties by means of an electric field is an important aspect in magnetism and magnetoelectronics. We here utilize magnetoelastic coupling in ferromagnetic/piezoelectric hybrids to realize a voltage control of magnetization orientation at room temperature. The samples consist of polycrystalline nickel thin films evaporated onto piezoelectric actuators. The magnetic properties of these multifunctional hybrids are investigated at room temperature as a function of the voltage controlled stress exerted by the actuator on the Ni film. Ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy s…
Wurtzite (Ga,Mn)N films showing ferromagnetic behaviour at room temperature were successfully grown on sapphire(0001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using ammonia as nitrogen source. Magnetization measurements were carried out by a superconducting quantum interference device at the temperatures between 1.8K and 300K with magnetic field applied parallel to the film plane up to 7T. The magnetic-field dependence of magnetization of a (Ga,Mn)N film at 300K were ferromagnetic, while a GaN film showed Pauli paramagnetism like behaviour. The Curie temperatures of a (Ga,Mn)N film was estimated a…
Topological insulators (TIs) with spin momentum locked topological surface states (TSS) are expected to exhibit a giant spin-orbit torque (SOT) in the TI/ferromagnet systems. To date, the TI SOT driven magnetization switching is solely reported in a Cr doped TI at 1.9 K. Here, we directly show giant SOT driven magnetization switching in a Bi2Se3/NiFe heterostructure at room temperature captured using a magneto-optic Kerr effect microscope. We identify a large charge to spin conversion efficiency of ~1-1.75 in the thin TI films, where the TSS is dominant. In addition, we find the current densit…
Room-temperature ferromagnetic semiconductor is vital in nonvolatile digital circuits and it can provide an idea system where we can make use of both charge and spin of electrons. However, seeking room-temperature ferromagnetic semiconductors is still just an appealing idea that has never been realized in practice up to now. Here we demonstrate that graphene monolayer, hybridized with underlying Ni(111) substrate, is the room-temperature ferromagnetic semiconductor that has been continuously searched for decades. Our spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) experiments, complemented…
Epitaxial films including bulk-like cubic and wurtzite polymorphs of MnSb have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs via careful control of the Sb4/Mn flux ratio. Nonzero-temperature density functional theory was used to predict ab initio the spin polarization as a function of reduced magnetization for the half-metals NiMnSb and cubic MnSb. In both cases, half-metallicity is lost at a threshold magnetization reduction, corresponding to a temperature T*< Tc. This threshold is far higher for cubic MnSb compared to NiMnSb and corresponds to T* > 350K, making epitaxial cubic MnSb a promisin…
We present self flux growth and characterization of single crystalline AlMn$_2$B$_2$. It is an orthorhombic (space group Cmmm), layered material with a plate like morphology. The anisotropic bulk magnetization data, electrical transport and $^{11}$B nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) data revealed an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition at 313 $\pm$ 2 K. In the magnetization data, there is also a broad local maximum significantly above the AFM transition that could be a signature of low dimensional magnetic interactions in AlMn$_2$B$_2$.
In this paper, magnetoelectric effects of Sr Z-type hexaferrite, Sr3Fe24Co2O41, at room temperature is measured. The change in remanence magnetization was measured by applying a DC voltage or electric field across a slab of hexaferrite. Changes of ~ 18% in remanence was observed in an electric field of 10,000V/cm implying a similar change in the microwave permeability at frequencies below 3GHz. In these types of measurements high resistivity is critical in order to reduce current flow in the hexaferrite. The resistivity of the hexaferrite was raised to 4.28x10^8 ohm?-cm by annealing under oxyg…
The magnetization of thin films of cobalt ferrite frequently falls far below the bulk value of 455 kAm-1, which corresponds to an inverse cation distribution in the spinel structure with a significant orbital moment of about 0.6 muB that is associated with the octahedrally-coordinated Co2+ ions. The orbital moment is responsible for the magnetostriction and magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and its sensitivity to imposed strain. We have systematically investigated the structure and magnetism of films produced by pulsed-laser deposition on different substrates (TiO2, MgO, MgAl2O4, SrTiO3, LSAT, La…
Digital alloys of GaSb/Mn have been fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy. Transmission electron micrographs showed good crystal quality with individual Mn-containing layers well resolved; no evidence of 3D MnSb precipitates was seen in as-grown samples. All samples studied exhibited ferromagnetism with temperature dependent hysteresis loops in the magnetization accompanied by metallic p-type conductivity with a strong anomalous Hall effect (AHE) up to 400 K (limited by the experimental setup). The anomalous Hall effect shows hysteresis loops at low temperatures and above room temperature very …
Mutual control of the electricity and magnetism in terms of magnetic (H) and electric (E) fields, the magnetoelectric (ME) effect, offers versatile low power-consumption alternatives to current data storage, logic gate, and spintronic devices. Despite its importance, E-field control over magnetization (M) with significant magnitude was observed only at low temperatures. Here we have successfully stabilized a simultaneously ferrimagnetic and ferroelectric phase in a Y-type hexaferrite single crystal up to T=450K and demonstrated the reversal of large non-volatile M by E field close to room temp…
Room-temperature ferroelectrically switchable quantum geometry in few-layer WTe2 for complementary in-memory computing
Nanyang Technological University（南洋理工大学）；Nanjing University（南京大学）；Beihang University（北京航空航天大学）；Nanjing University of Science and Technology（南京理工大学）；The Hong Kong Polytechnic University（香港理工大学）
We have stabilized the α-Fe1.6Ga0.4O3 (Ga doped α-Fe2O3) system in rhombohedral structure. The system has shown magnetically canted ferromagnetic state and ferroelectric properties at room temperature. In first time, we confirm the existence of magneto-electric coupling and multiferro-electric properties at room temperature in the Ga doped α-Fe2O3 system based on the experimental observation of magnetic field controlled electric polarization and electric field controlled magnetization. The α-Fe2O3 system does not exhibit electric field controlled magnetic exchange bias effect, where as Ga dope…
Electric-field control of magnetism without electric currents potentially revolutionizes spintronics towards ultralow power. Here by using mechanically coupled phase field simulations, we computationally demonstrate the application of the strain-mediated magnetoelectric effect for the electric-field control of magnetic states in heterostructure. In the model heterostructure constituted of the soft nanomagnet Co and the piezoelectric substrate PMN-PT, both the volatility of magnetic states and the magnetization switching dynamics excited by the electric field are explored. It is found that an e…
We report a surfactant assisted synthesis of Mn doped ZnO polycrystalline samples showing robust room temperature ferromagnetism as characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and DC magnetization mearurements. This surfactant assisted synthesis method, developed by us, is found to be highly reproducible. Further, it can also be extended to the synthesis of other transition metal doped ZnO.
The Y_0.5Ca_0.5BaCo_4O_7 compound exhibits four magnetic anomalies at the temperatures 387, 281, 52, and 14 K; all anomalies show characteristics typical for spin freezing into disordered states: frequency dependent transition temperature in the AC magnetic susceptibility together with relaxation of thermoremnant magnetization. Y_0.5Ca_0.5BaCo_4O_7 is a semiconductor with a small band-gap of 0.17 eV concluded from four-point conductivity measurements and the conductivity is proportional to T^(-3/4), suggesting an electron hopping mechanism involving Co^(2+) and Co^(3+) ions; at higher temperat…
There have been a large number of papers on bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) over the past few years, trying to exploit its room-temperature magnetoelectric multiferroic properties. Although these are attractive, BiFeO3 is not the ideal multiferroic, due to weak magnetization and the difficulty in limiting leakage currents. Thus there is an ongoing search for alternatives, including such materials as gallium ferrite (GaFeO3). In the present work we report a comprehensive study of the perovskite PbTi1-xPdxO3 with 0 < x < 0.3. Our study includes dielectric, impedance and magnetization measurements, cond…
Sol-gel deposited (010) textured polycrystalline thin films of gallium ferrite (GaFeO3 or GFO) on n-Si(100) and Pt/Si(111) substrates are characterized for room temperature multiferroism. Structural characterization using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy confirms formation of single phase with nano-sized crystallites. Temperature dependent magnetization study demonstrates ferri to paramagnetic transition at ~300 K. Room temperature piezoresponse force microscopic analysis reveals local 180 degree phase switching of ferroelectric domains at very high coercive field EC, ~ 1350 kV/cm cons…
Nanoparticles of superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-delta (YBCO) (Tc = 91 K) exhibit ferromagnetism at room temperature while the bulk YBCO, obtained by heating the nanoparticles at high temperature (940 degree C), shows a linear magnetization curve. Across the superconducting transition temperature, the magnetization curve changes from that of a soft ferromagnet to a superconductor. Furthermore, our experiments reveal that not only nanoparticles of metal oxides but also metal nitrides such as NbN (Tc = 6 - 12 K) and delta-MoN (Tc ~ 6 K) exhibit room-temperature ferromagnetism.
We present in this paper the changes in the room temperature magnetic property of ZnO on Mn doping prepared using solvo-thermal process. The zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) magnetisation of undoped ZnO showed bifurcation and magnetic hysteresis at room temperature. Upon Mn doping the magnetic hysteresis at room temperature and the bifurcation in ZFC-FC magnetization vanishes. The results seem to indicate that undoped ZnO is ferromagnetic while on the other hand the Mn doped ZnO is not a ferromagnetic system. We observe that on addition of Mn atoms the system shows antiferromagnet…
We report on unusual magnetic properties observed in the nanofluid room-temperature ferromagnetic graphite (with an average particle size of l=10nm). More precisely, the measured magnetization exhibits a low-temperature anomaly (attributed to manifestation of finite size effects below the quantum temperature) as well as pronounced temperature oscillations above T=50K (attributed to manifestation of the hard-sphere type pair correlations between ferromagnetic particles in the nanofluid).
Ferromagnetism above room temperature was observed in Cr-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon films deposited by rf magnetron-sputtering. Structure analysis reveals that films are amorphous without any detectable precipitates up to the solubility limit 16 atomic percentages of Cr. Experimental results suggest that hydrogenation has a dramatic influence on magnetic properties, electrical conductivity and carrier concentration in the thin films. Pronounced anomalous Hall effect and magnetization curve both suggest the origin of the ferromagnetism may arises from percolation of magnetic polarons.
We compare magnetoresistances (MR) and switching currents (I_s) at room temperature (295K) and 4.2K for Permalloy/N/Permalloy nanopillars undergoing current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS), with non-magnetic metals N = Cu, Ag, and Au. The N-metal thickness is held fixed at 10 nm. Any systematic differences in MR and I_s for the different N-metals are modest, suggesting that Ag and Au represent potentially viable alternatives for CIMS studies and devices to the more widely used Cu.
We demonstrate spin injection into a graphene thin film with high reliability by using non-local magnetoresistance (MR) measurements, in which the electric current path is completely separated from the spin current path. Using these non-local measurements, an obvious MR effect was observed at room temperature; and the MR effect was ascribed to magnetization reversal of ferromagnetic electrodes. This result is a direct demonstration of spin injection into a graphene thin film. Furthermore, this is the first report of spin injection into molecules at room temperature.
First-principles techniques are used to investigate the behavior of BiFeO$_{3}$/LaFeO$_{3}$ perovskite oxide superlattices epitaxially grown on a (001)-SrTiO$_3$ substrate. The calculations show that 1/1 superlattices exhibit a $Pmc2_1$ ground state combining a trilinear coupling of one polar and two oxygen rotational lattice modes, and weak ferromagnetism. The microscopic mechanism allowing one to manipulate the magnetization with an electric field in such systems is presented and its dependence on strain and chemical substitution is discussed. BiFeO$_{3}$/LaFeO$_{3}$ artificial superlattices…
Electric-field control of magnetization dynamics is fundamentally and technologically important for future spintronic devices. Here, based on electric-field control of both magnetic anisotropy and spin--orbit torque, two distinct methods are presented for switching the magnetization in topological insulator (TI)/magnetic-TI hybrid systems. The magnetic anisotropy energy in magnetic TIs is formulated analytically as a function of the Fermi energy, and it is confirmed that the out-of-plane magnetization is always favored for the partially occupied surface band. Also proposed is a transistor-like…
Piezomagnetism couples strain linearly to magnetic order producing magnetization. Thus, unlike magnetostriction, it enables bidirectional control of a net magnetic moment. If this effect becomes large at room temperature, it may be technologically relevant, similar to its electric analogue, piezoelectricity. To date, however, the studies of the piezomagnetic effect have been primarily restricted to antiferromagnetic (AF) insulators at cryogenic temperatures. Here we report the discovery of a large piezomagnetism in a metal at room temperature. Strikingly, by using the AF Weyl semimetal Mn$_3$S…
