title: Individual atomic-scale magnets interacting with spin-polarized field-emitted electrons.
abstract: We resonantly inject spin-polarized field-emitted electrons in thermally switching nanomagnets. A detailed lifetime analysis as a function of the spin-polarized emission current reveals that considerable Joule heating is generated, and spin-transfer torque results in a directed switching. A trend of higher switching efficiency per electron is observed with an increasing emission current, probably due to the excitation of Stoner modes. On a quasistable nanomagnet, a spin-polarized emission current in the low nA regime already triggers magnetization reversal, thereby demonstrating the high impact of hot-electron spins onto atomic-scale magnets.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Physics and Microstructure Research Center, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. aschlenh@physnet.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: Anika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schlenhoff
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sonntag
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wiesendanger