title: Current-induced switching in a magnetic insulator.
abstract: The spin Hall effect in heavy metals converts charge current into pure spin current, which can be injected into an adjacent ferromagnet to exert a torque. This spin-orbit torque (SOT) has been widely used to manipulate the magnetization in metallic ferromagnets. In the case of magnetic insulators (MIs), although charge currents cannot flow, spin currents can propagate, but current-induced control of the magnetization in a MI has so far remained elusive. Here we demonstrate spin-current-induced switching of a perpendicularly magnetized thulium iron garnet film driven by charge current in a Pt overlayer. We estimate a relatively large spin-mixing conductance and damping-like SOT through spin Hall magnetoresistance and harmonic Hall measurements, respectively, indicating considerable spin transparency at the Pt/MI interface. We show that spin currents injected across this interface lead to deterministic magnetization reversal at low current densities, paving the road towards ultralow-dissipation spintronic devices based on MIs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Can Onur
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1226-2342
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Avci
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Quindeau
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Chi-Feng
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Pai
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Maxwell
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Lucas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caretta
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Astera S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Mehmet C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Onbasli
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Caroline A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Geoffrey S D
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9158-7430
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Beach