Spin-orbit torque switching of an antiferromagnetic metallic heterostructure

Samik DuttaGupta, A. Kurenkov, Oleg A. Tretiakov, G. Krishnaswamy, G. Sala, V. Krizakova, F. Maccherozzi, S. S. Dhesi, P. Gambardella, S. Fukami, H. Ohno

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ability to represent information using an antiferromagnetic material is attractive for future antiferromagnetic spintronic devices. Previous studies have focussed on the utilization of antiferromagnetic materials with biaxial magnetic anisotropy for electrical manipulation. A practical realization of these antiferromagnetic devices is limited by the requirement of material-specific constraints. Here, we demonstrate current-induced switching in a polycrystalline PtMn/Pt metallic heterostructure. A comparison of electrical transport measurements in PtMn with and without the Pt layer, corroborated by x-ray imaging, reveals reversible switching of the thermally-stable antiferromagnetic Néel vector by spin-orbit torques. The presented results demonstrate the potential of polycrystalline metals for antiferromagnetic spintronics.

Original languageEnglish
Article number5715
JournalNature Communications
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020 Dec

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