Thermal spin transfer in Fe-MgO-Fe tunnel junctions

Xingtao Jia, Ke Xia, Gerrit E.W. Bauer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

98 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We compute thermal spin transfer (TST) torques in Fe-MgO-Fe tunnel junctions using a first principles wave-function-matching method. At room temperature, the TST in a junction with 3 MgO monolayers amounts to 10 -7J/m2/K, which is estimated to cause magnetization reversal for temperature differences over the barrier of the order of 10 K. The large TST can be explained by multiple scattering between interface states through ultrathin barriers. The angular dependence of the TST can be very skewed, possibly leading to thermally induced high-frequency generation.

Original languageEnglish
Article number176603
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume107
Issue number17
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011 Oct 20

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