Ultra-high differential mobility and velocity of Néel walls in spin valves with planar-transverse polarizers under low perpendicularly injected currents
Transverse domain wall (TDW) dynamics in long and narrow spin valves with perpendicular current injection is theoretically investigated. We demonstrate that stable traveling-wave motion of TDWs with finite velocity survives for strong enough planar-transverse polarizers. For typical ferromagnetic materials (for example, Co) and achievable spin polarization ($P=0.6$), TDWs acquire a velocity of $10^3$ m/s under a current density below $10^7$ $\mathrm{A/cm^2}$. This efficiency is comparable with that of perpendicular polarizers. More importantly, in this case the wall has ultra-high "differential mobility" around the onset of stable wall excitation. Our results open new possibilities for developing magnetic nanodevices based on TDW propagation with low energy consumption. Also, analytics for parallel and perpendicular polarizers perfectly explains existing simulation findings. Finally, further boosting of TDWs by external uniform transverse magnetic fields is investigated and turns out to be efficient.
We report the free layer switching field distributions of spin-valve nanopillars with perpendicular magnetization. While the distributions are consistent with a thermal activation model, they show a strong asymmetry between the parallel to antiparallel and the reverse transition, with energy barriers more than 50% higher for the parallel to antiparallel transitions. The inhomogeneous dipolar field from the polarizer is demonstrated to be at the origin of this symmetry breaking. Interestingly, the symmetry is restored for devices with a lithographically defined notch pair removed from the midpo…
We present switching field distributions of spin-transfer assisted magnetization reversal in perpendicularly magnetized Co/Ni multilayer spin-valve nanopillars at room temperature. Switching field measurements of the Co/Ni free layer of spin-valve nanopillars with a 50 nm x 300 nm ellipse cross section were conducted as a function of current. The validity of a model that assumes a spin-current dependent effective barrier for thermally activated reversal is tested by measuring switching field distributions under applied direct currents. We show that the switching field distributions deviate sig…
Modulations of interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (iDMI) on current-driven dynamics of 180$^{\circ}$ domain walls (180DWs) in long and narrow spin valves (LNSVs) with heavy-metal caplayers are systematically investigated. We focus on LNSVs with in-plane magnetic anisotropy in their free layers. For planar-transverse polarizers (pinned layers of LNSVs), the Walker breakdown can be postponed considerably (practical infinity) by iDMI. More interestingly, the originally unstable traveling mode is also stabilized by iDMI with high saturation velocity thus serves as fast carrier of inform…
We present a study of the temperature dependence of the switching fields in Co/Ni-based perpendicularly magnetized spin-valves. While magnetization reversal of all-perpendicular Co/Ni spin valves at ambient temperatures is typically marked by a single sharp step change in resistance, low temperature measurements can reveal a series of resistance steps, consistent with non-uniform magnetization configurations. We propose a model that consists of domain nucleation, propagation and annihilation to explain the temperature dependence of the switching fields. Interestingly, low temperature (<30 K) s…
We show by means of micromagnetic simulations that spin polarizer in nano-contact spin torque oscillators (NC-STOs) as the representative of the fixed layer in an orthogonal pseudo-spin valve (P-SV) can be employed to design and to control magnetic droplet soliton nucleation and dynamics. We found that using a tilted spin polarizer layer decreases the droplet nucleation time which is more suitable for high speed applications. However, a tilted spin polarizer increases the nucleation current and decreases the frequency stability of the droplet. Additionally, by driving the magnetization inhomog…
Current-driven spin torques in metallic spin-valves composed of antiferromagnets are theoretically studied using the non-equilibrium Green's function method implemented on a tight-binding model. We focus our attention on G-type and L-type antiferromagnets in both clean and disordered regimes. In such structures, spin torques can either rotate the magnetic order parameter coherently (coherent torque) or compete with the internal antiferromagnetic exchange (exchange torque). We show that, depending on the symmetry of the spin-valve, the coherent and exchange torques can be either in the plane, α…
This paper predicts the possibility to achieve synchronization (via injection locking to a microwave current) of spin-transfer torque oscillators based on hybrid spin-valves composed by two free layers and two perpendicular polarizers at zero bias field. The locking regions are attained for microwave frequency near 0.5f0, f0, and 2f0 where f0 is the input oscillator frequency. Those properties make this system promising for applications, such as high-speed frequency dividers and multipliers, and phase-locked-loop demodulators.
Spin valves incorporating perpendicularly magnetized materials are promising structures for memory elements and high-frequency generators. We report the angular dependence of the spin-transfer torque in spin valves with perpendicular equilibrium magnetization computed by first-principles circuit theory and compare results with experiments by W.H. Rippard c.s. [Phys. Rev. B 81, 014426 (2010)] on the CoFe|Cu|CoNi system. Furthermore, we predict a non-monotonous ("wavy") spin-transfer torque when the Cu spacer is replaced by a Ru layer.
We demonstrate current-induced bipolar switching in in-plane magnetized spin-valve devices that incorporate a perpendicularly magnetized spin polarizing layer. Further, hysteretic transitions into a state with intermediate resistance occur at high currents, again for both current polarities. These transitions are shown to be consistent with a macrospin model that considers a spin-polarized current that is tilted with respect to the free layer plane, due to the presence of spin-transfer torque from the polarizing layer. These unique switching characteristics, which have their origin in the nonc…
We have measured spin transfer-induced dynamics in magnetic nanocontact devices having a perpendicularly magnetized Co/Ni free layer and an in-plane magnetized CoFe fixed layer. The frequencies and powers of the excitations agree well with the predictions of the single-domain model and indicate that the excited dynamics correspond to precessional orbits with angles ranging from zero to 90 degrees as the applied current is increased at a fixed field. From measurements of the onset current as a function of applied field strength we estimate the magnitude of the spin torque asymmetry parameter la…
We report on the combination of current-induced spin-orbit torques and giant magnetoresistance in a single device to achieve all-electrical write and read out of the magnetization. The device consists of perpendicularly magnetized TbCo and Co layers separated by a Pt or Cu spacer. Current injection through such layers exerts spin-orbit torques and switches the magnetization of the Co layer while the TbCo magnetization remains fixed. Subsequent current injection of lower amplitude senses the relative orientation of the magnetization of the Co and TbCo layers, which results in two distinct resis…
Ultrafast demagnetization of magnetic layers pumped by a femtosecond laser pulse is accompanied by a nonthermal spin-polarized current of hot electrons. These spin currents are studied here theoretically in a spin valve with noncollinear magnetizations. To this end, we introduce an extended model of superdiffusive spin transport that enables to treat noncollinear magnetic configurations, and apply it to the perpendicular spin valve geometry. We show how spin-transfer torques arise due to this mechanism and calculate their action on the magnetization present, as well as how the latter depends o…
Spin transport in magnetic tunnel junctions comprising a single magnetic layer in the presence of interfacial spin-orbit interaction (SOI) is investigated theoretically. Due to the presence of interfacial SOI, a current-driven spin torque can be generated at the second order in SOI, even in the absence of an external spin polarizer. This torque possesses two components, in-plane and perpendicular to the plane of rotation, that can induce either current-driven {\em magnetization switching} from in-plane to out-of-plane configuration or {\em magnetization precessions}, similarly to Spin Transfer…
A "spin-flip transistor" is a lateral spin valve consisting of ferromagnetic source drain contacts to a thin-film normal-metal island with an electrically floating ferromagnetic base contact on top. We analyze the \emph{dc}-current-driven magnetization dynamics of spin-flip transistors in which the source-drain contacts are magnetized perpendicularly to the device plane by magnetoelectronic circuit theory and the macrospin Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. Spin flip scattering and spin pumping effects are taken into account. We find a steady-state rotation of the base magnetization at GHz freq…
We fabricated Co nano-rings incorporated in the vertical pseudo-spin-valve nanopillar structures with deep submicron lateral sizes. It is shown that the current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance can be used to characterize a very small magnetic nano-ring effectively. Both the onion state and the flux-closure vortex state are observed. The Co nano-rings can be switched between the onion states as well as between onion and vortex states not only by the external field but also by the perpendicularly injected dc current.
The recent experiment [Y. Wang et al., Science 366, 1125 (2019)] on magnon-mediated spin-transfer torque (MSTT) was interpreted in terms of a picture where magnons are excited within an antiferromagnetic insulator (AFI), by applying nonequilibrium electronic spin density at one of its surfaces, so that their propagation across AFI deprived of conduction electrons eventually leads to reversal of magnetization of a ferromagnetic metal (FM) attached to the opposite surface of AFI. We employ a recently developed time-dependent nonequilibrium Green functions combined with the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilber…
We review a unified approach for computing: (i) spin-transfer torque in magnetic trilayers like spin-valves and magnetic tunnel junction, where injected charge current flows perpendicularly to interfaces; and (ii) spin-orbit torque in magnetic bilayers of the type ferromagnet/spin-orbit-coupled-material, where injected charge current flows parallel to the interface. Our approach requires to construct the torque operator for a given Hamiltonian of the device and the steady-state nonequilibrium density matrix, where the latter is expressed in terms of the nonequilibrium Green's functions and spl…
