Large spin-orbit torques in Pt/Co-Ni/W heterostructures

We report a giant spin Hall effect (SHE) in {\beta}-Ta that generates spin currents intense enough to induce efficient spin-transfer-torque switching of ferromagnets, thereby providing a new approach for controlling magnetic devices that can be superior to existing technologies. We quantify this SHE by three independent methods and demonstrate spin-torque (ST) switching of both out-of-plane and in-plane magnetized layers. We implement a three-terminal device that utilizes current passing through a low impedance Ta-ferromagnet bilayer to effect switching of a nanomagnet, with a higher-impedance magnetic tunnel junction for read-out. The efficiency and reliability of this device, together with its simplicity of fabrication, suggest that this three-terminal SHE-ST design can eliminate the main obstacles currently impeding the development of magnetic memory and non-volatile spin logic technologies.

In most ferromagnets the magnetization rotates from one domain to the next with no preferred handedness. However, broken inversion symmetry can lift the chiral degeneracy, leading to topologically-rich spin textures such as spin-spirals and skyrmions via the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). Here we show that in ultrathin metallic ferromagnets sandwiched between a heavy metal and an oxide, the DMI stabilizes chiral domain walls (DWs) whose spin texture enables extremely efficient current-driven motion. We show that spin torque from the spin Hall effect drives DWs in opposite directions in Pt/CoFe/MgO and Ta/CoFe/MgO, which can be explained only if the DWs assume a N\'eel configuration with left-handed chirality. We directly confirm the DW chirality and rigidity by examining current-driven DW dynamics with magnetic fields applied perpendicular and parallel to the spin spiral. This work resolves the origin of controversial experimental results and highlights a new path towards interfacial design of spintronic devices.

Methods to manipulate the magnetization of ferromagnets by means of local electric fields or current-induced spin transfer torque allow the design of integrated spintronic devices with reduced dimensions and energy consumption compared with conventional magnetic field actuation. An alternative way to induce a spin torque using an electric current has been proposed based on intrinsic spin-orbit magnetic fields and recently realized in a strained low-temperature ferromagnetic semiconductor. Here we demonstrate that strong magnetic fields can be induced in ferromagnetic metal films lacking structure inversion symmetry through the Rashba effect. Owing to the combination of spin-orbit and exchange interactions, we show that an electric current flowing in the plane of a Co layer with asymmetric Pt and AlO(x) interfaces produces an effective transverse magnetic field of 1 T per 10(8) A cm(-2). Besides its fundamental significance, the high efficiency of this process makes it a realistic candidate for room-temperature spintronic applications.