Fast 180° magnetization switching in a strain-mediated multiferroic heterostructure driven by a voltage.
Voltage-driven 180° magnetization switching provides a low-power alternative to current-driven magnetization switching widely used in spintronic devices. Here we computationally demonstrate a promising route to achieve voltage-driven in-plane 180° magnetization switching in a strain-mediated multiferroic heterostructure (e.g., a heterostructure consisting of an amorphous, slightly elliptical Co40Fe40B20 nanomagnet on top of a Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 film as an example). This 180° switching follows a unique precessional path all in the film plane, and is enabled by manipulating magnetization dynamics with fast, local piezostrains (rise/release time <0.1 ns) on the Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 film surface. Our analyses predict ultralow area energy consumption per switching (~0.03 J/m(2)), approximately three orders of magnitude smaller than that dissipated by current-driven magnetization switching. A fast overall switching time of about 2.3 ns is also demonstrated. Further reduction of energy consumption and switching time can be achieved by optimizing the structure and material selection. The present design provides an additional viable route to realizing low-power and high-speed spintronics.
State Key Lab of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 100084.
Ren-Ci
RC
Peng
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA, 16802.
Jia-Mian
JM
Hu
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA, 16802.
Kasra
K
Momeni
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA, 16802.
Jian-Jun
JJ
Wang
State Key Lab of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 100084.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA, 16802.
Long-Qing
LQ
Chen
State Key Lab of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 100084.
Ce-Wen
CW
Nan