Spin-orbit-torque engineering via oxygen manipulation.
Spin transfer torques allow the electrical manipulation of magnetization at room temperature, which is desirable in spintronic devices such as spin transfer torque memories. When combined with spin-orbit coupling, they give rise to spin-orbit torques, which are a more powerful tool for controlling magnetization and can enrich device functionalities. The engineering of spin-orbit torques, based mostly on the spin Hall effect, is being intensely pursued. Here, we report that the oxidation of spin-orbit-torque devices triggers a new mechanism of spin-orbit torque, which is about two times stronger than that based on the spin Hall effect. We thus introduce a way to engineer spin-orbit torques via oxygen manipulation. Combined with electrical gating of the oxygen level, our findings may also pave the way towards reconfigurable logic devices.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and NUSNNI-Nanocore, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
Xuepeng
X
Qiu
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and NUSNNI-Nanocore, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
Kulothungasagaran
K
Narayanapillai
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and NUSNNI-Nanocore, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
Yang
Y
Wu
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and NUSNNI-Nanocore, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
Praveen
P
Deorani
c_CCMR and Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Dong-Hyuk
DH
Yang
c_CCMR and Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Woo-Suk
WS
Noh
1] c_CCMR and Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea [2] Division of Advanced Materials Science, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Jae-Hoon
JH
Park
1] Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, Korea [2] KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology, Korea University, Seoul 136-713, Korea.
Kyung-Jin
0000000162692266
KJ
Lee
PCTP and Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Hyun-Woo
0000000216488093
HW
Lee
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and NUSNNI-Nanocore, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
Hyunsoo
H
Yang