45° sign switching of effective exchange bias due to competing anisotropies in fully epitaxial Co3FeN/MnN bilayers

2017

We report an unusual angular-dependent exchange bias effect in ferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayers, where both ferromagnet and antiferromagnet are epitaxially grown. Numerical model calculations predict an approximately 45° period for the sign switching of the exchange-bias field, depending on the ratio between magnetocrystalline anisotropy and exchange-coupling constant. The switching of the sign is indicative of a competition between a fourfold magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the ferromagnet and a unidirectional anisotropy field of the exchange coupling. This predicted unusual angular-dependent exchange bias and its magnetization switching process are confirmed by measurements on fully …

Identifying the domain-wall spin structure in antiferromagnetic NiO/Pt

2023

Piezo-electrical control of gyration dynamics of magnetic vortices

2019

In this work, we first statically image the electrically controlled magnetostatic configuration of magnetic vortex states and then we dynamically image the time-resolved vortex core gyration tuned by electric fields. We demonstrate the manipulation of the vortex core gyration orbit by engineering the magnetic anisotropies. We achieve this by electric fields in a synthetic heterostructure consisting of a piezoelement coupled with magnetostrictive microstructures, where the magnetic anisotropy can be controlled by strain. We directly show the strong impact of the tailored anisotropy on the static shape of the vortex state and the dynamic vortex core orbit. The results demonstrate the possibil…

Mechanism of Néel Order Switching in Antiferromagnetic Thin Films Revealed by Magnetotransport and Direct Imaging.

2019

We probe the current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet/heavy metals systems, by electrical spin Hall magnetoresistance measurements and direct imaging, identifying a reversal occurring by domain wall (DW) motion. We observe switching of more than one third of the antiferromagnetic domains by the application of current pulses. Our data reveal two different magnetic switching mechanisms leading together to an efficient switching, namely the spin-current induced effective magnetic anisotropy variation and the action of the spin torque on the DWs.

Optical read-out of the N\'eel vector in metallic antiferromagnet Mn$_{2}$Au

2021

Metallic antiferromagnets with broken inversion symmetry on the two sublattices, strong spin-orbit coupling and high N\'{e}el temperatures offer new opportunities for applications in spintronics. Especially Mn$_{2}$Au, with high N\'{e}el temperature and conductivity, is particularly interesting for real-world applications. Here, manipulation of the orientation of the staggered magnetization,\textit{\ i.e.} the N\'{e}el vector, by current pulses has been recently demonstrated, with the read-out limited to studies of anisotropic magnetoresistance or X-ray magnetic linear dichroism. Here, we report on the in-plane reflectivity anisotropy of Mn$_{2}$Au (001) films, which were N\'{e}el vector al…

Electric-Field Control of Spin-Orbit Torques in Perpendicularly Magnetized W/CoFeB/MgO Films

2020

Controlling magnetism by electric fields offers a highly attractive perspective for designing future generations of energy-efficient information technologies. Here, we demonstrate that the magnitude of current-induced spin-orbit torques in thin perpendicularly magnetized CoFeB films can be tuned and even increased by electric-field generated piezoelectric strain. Using theoretical calculations, we uncover that the subtle interplay of spin-orbit coupling, crystal symmetry, and orbital polarization is at the core of the observed strain dependence of spin-orbit torques. Our results open a path to integrating two energy efficient spin manipulation approaches, the electric-field-induced strain a…

Spin structure and spin Hall magnetoresistance of epitaxial thin films of the insulating non-collinear antiferromagnet SmFeO3

2019

We report a combined study of imaging the antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin structure and measuring the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in epitaxial thin films of the insulating non-collinear antiferromagnet SmFeO$_3$. X-ray magnetic linear dichroism photoemission electron microscopy measurements reveal that the AFM spins of the SmFeO$_3$(110) align in the plane of the film. Angularly dependent magnetoresistance measurements show that SmFeO$_3$/Ta bilayers exhibit a positive SMR, in contrast to the negative SMR expected in previously studied collinear AFMs. The SMR amplitude increases linearly with increasing external magnetic field at higher magnetic field, suggesting that field-induced canti…

Identification of Néel Vector Orientation in Antiferromagnetic Domains Switched by Currents in NiO/Pt Thin Films

2021

Understanding the electrical manipulation of the antiferromagnetic order is a crucial aspect to enable the design of antiferromagnetic devices working at THz frequencies. Focusing on collinear insulating antiferromagnetic $\mathrm{Ni}\mathrm{O}/\mathrm{Pt}$ thin films as a materials platform, we identify the crystallographic orientation of the domains that can be switched by currents and quantify the N\'eel-vector direction changes. We demonstrate electrical switching between different T domains by current pulses, finding that the N\'eel-vector orientation in these domains is along [$\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5$ $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5$ 19], different compared to the bulk $⟨112⟩$ d…

Current induced chiral domain wall motion in CuIr/CoFeB/MgO thin films with strong higher order spin–orbit torques

2020

We investigate the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) and spin–orbit torque effects in CuIr/CoFeB/MgO heterostructures. To this end, harmonic Hall measurements and current induced domain wall motion experiments are performed. The motion of domain walls at zero applied field due to current demonstrates the presence of DMI in this system. We determine the strength of the DMI to be D = + 5 ± 3 μ J / m 2 and deduce right-handed chirality in domain walls showing a partial Neel type spin structure. To ascertain the torques, we perform a second harmonic measurement to quantify the damping- and field-like current induced effective fields as a function of the magnetization direction. From the a…

Imaging of current induced Néel vector switching in antiferromagnetic Mn 2 Au

2019

The effects of current induced N\'eel spin-orbit torques on the antiferromagnetic domain structure of epitaxial Mn$_2$Au thin films were investigated by X-ray magnetic linear dichroism - photoemission electron microscopy (XMLD-PEEM). We observed current induced switching of AFM domains essentially corresponding to morphological features of the samples. Reversible as well as irreversible N\'eel vector reorientation was obtained in different parts of the samples and the switching of up to 30 % of all domains in the field of view of 10 $\mu$m is demonstrated. Our direct microscopical observations are compared to and fully consistent with anisotropic magnetoresistance effects previously attribu…

Spin structure and spin Hall magnetoresistance of epitaxial thin films of the insulating non-collinear antiferromagnet SmFeO 3

2019

We report a combined study of imaging the antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin structure and measuring the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in epitaxial thin films of the insulating non-collinear antiferromagnet SmFeO3. X-ray magnetic linear dichroism photoemission electron microscopy measurements reveal that the AFM spins of the SmFeO3(1 1 0) align in the plane of the film. Angularly dependent magnetoresistance measurements show that SmFeO3/Ta bilayers exhibit a positive SMR, in contrast to the negative SMR expected in previously studied collinear AFMs. The SMR amplitude increases linearly with increasing external magnetic field at higher magnetic fields, suggesting that field-induced canting of …

The Statistical Description of de Haas—van Alphen Oscillations in Silicon Nanosandwich

2020

Here, we present room temperature de Haas—van Alphen oscillations measured in silicon nanosandwich in a weak magnetic field. Our results demonstrate a decrease of the oscillation magnitude with increasing magnetic field strength. This behavior is drastically different from the results reported earlier and it is attributed to the low-dimensionality of the studied structure, which enables room temperature observation of the de Haas—van Alphen effect in moderate magnetic fields up to 1000 Oe. We employ the classic Lifshitz-Kosevich formalism based on the dependence of the carrier effective mass on the applied magnetic field, to statistically describe this effect. We note that the statistical a…

Full angular dependence of the spin Hall and ordinary magnetoresistance in epitaxial antiferromagnetic NiO(001)/Pt thin films

2018

We report the observation of the three-dimensional angular dependence of the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in a bilayer of the epitaxial antiferromagnetic insulator NiO(001) and the heavy metal Pt, without any ferromagnetic element. The detected angular-dependent longitudinal and transverse magnetoresistances are measured by rotating the sample in magnetic fields up to 11 T, along three orthogonal planes (xy-, yz- and xz-rotation planes, where the z-axis is orthogonal to the sample plane). The total magnetoresistance has contributions arising from both the SMR and ordinary magnetoresistance. The onset of the SMR signal occurs between 1 and 3 T and no saturation is visible up to 11 T. Th…

Magnetization switching behavior with competing anisotropies in epitaxial Co3FeN/MnN exchange-coupled bilayers

2016

Impact of the interplay of piezoelectric strain and current-induced heating on the field-like spin–orbit torque in perpendicularly magnetized Ta/Co20…

2021

Spin–orbit torques (SOTs) are known to be the most efficient way to manipulate the magnetization direction by electrical currents. While, conventionally, one symmetry component of the SOTs, namely, the damping-like torque, was considered to play a primary role, recently, the significance of the other component, the field-like torque, has been revised, owing to the non-trivial dynamics it can induce in heavy metal/ferromagnet multilayers. In this work, we first discuss the unusual behavior of the field-like SOT in a Ta/CoFeB/Ta/MgO multilayer system with a reduced magnetic anisotropy and demonstrate an energy-efficient approach to manipulate the magnitude of the SOT effective fields. Finally…